


Out of Ashes

by BattleAngel



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: DJWifi is too, I'm enjoying the death and destruction, Luka and Chat fight over Marinette, Marichat is kinda a thing, New Miraculous, Occasional angst, Post-apocalyptic Paris, akumatized Marinette (kinda), and an itty bitty bit of fluff, miraculous formation, oh who am I kidding a lot of angst, there will totally be character death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-06
Updated: 2020-01-04
Packaged: 2021-01-24 10:37:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 20,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21336874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BattleAngel/pseuds/BattleAngel
Summary: Paris is in ruins, and Ladybug is nowhere to be found. Chat is a wreck. The miraculous holders are doing their best to keep the peace, but at the moment survival is the best they can manage in this new world.Until a tidal wave carries a new variable into the team's struggle to find Ladybug and bring Gabriel Agreste to justice.Marinette on the banks of the Seine, eyes glowing.
Comments: 34
Kudos: 169





	1. Storm

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time publishing a fanfic, so please leave comments/criticism! Also, credit to ES for reviewing. Thank you!

Paris is burning.

  
Nadia Chamack’s voice is fuzzy in the background.

  
“Today marks the third month since the incident at the Eiffel Tower. Troops are still patrolling the center of France for survivors.” Static cut through. The helicopter view of the plaza in flames was interrupted, but a hand thumped the side of the TV, and the picture steadied. “after Gabriel Agreste, better known by his alias ‘HawkMoth’” The signal crackled, and an angry growl of dissatisfaction rumbled as the TV was whacked again. “a burst of what is assumed to be radioactive energy was sent out that affected most of Paris. The effects of the radiation are still being monitored, but property damage is significant. Rubble covers arrondissements 5th through 7th, and scattered damage is prevalent nearly as far as 11th.” Static. “LadyBug is nowhere to be found.”

  
Grainy footage of Ladybug kneeling over bodies at the top of the Eiffel Tower, then standing. If there was audio, it was lost. Suddenly, she turns, eyes wide, lips open in a silent scream. Violet glow consumes the whole shot and then everything goes black.

  
“This was the last footage of Ladybug before the power surge that left the city reeling. The identity of Ladybug is still not known today-”

  
The screen flicks off. Kagami has her finger on the power button. She looks up, worry in her eyes.

  
Adrien doesn’t meet her gaze. He simply turns his sunken eyes from the now blank screen and puts his head in his hands. The table creaks. A light bulb flickers to light up the room, Kagami turns to look at Chloe, who has her hand on the light switch.

  
Chloe sneers. “Pitiful.”

  
The door creaks, then nearly flies off its hinges with a loud bang. Only Chloe flinches, narrowing her eyes at the wildly swinging door. Alya bursts into the basement carrying bulging plastic bags. Carapace comes in behind her and destransforms, then slumps on the ratty couch facedown. Alya tosses a bag on the counter and Plagg immediately dives into it, picking out the cheese.

  
“Most of the stores are picked out clean these days, and we ran into a bit of trouble on Boulevard de Clichy. But home we came. I tried to pick out some kwami specific food, but pickings were slim. Sorry.” She grinned apologetically at Plagg, who was in the middle of turning his nose up at the pitiful selection of stringy mozzarella cheese before him. “Nino was fantastic. Didn’t fatally injure a single mobster.” She smiled affectionately at Nino’s slumped form. He groaned in response.

  
Luka looks up, his teal tips faded to a dull grey. “Too bad. Would have served them right. That’s the fifth time this week.” Luka’s forehead has a paper towel taped over his forehead. Impromptu bandage after he was caught by surprise with a lead pipe to the face. The day before yesterday had been his turn to scrounge resources, and he wasn’t expecting to be attacked as savagely as he was over a mere box of Lucky Charms.

  
“People really are getting out of control,” Nino grumbled, a throw pillow slightly muffling his epiphany. “Most of France hates us now, remember? We can’t just pretend the whole us-getting-blamed thing never happened.”

  
The room bursts out into argument.

  
Kagami speaks above the crowd, “What can we do now? We have nowhere to go but ruins.” Eyes fall. “All we can do is what Ladybug would do if she were here, which is undoubtedly the opposite of what we’re doing now!” Everyone suddenly became very interested in the dusty floorboards. The team knew that mentioning Ladybug was taboo, especially around Adrien.

  
Out of the silence, Adrien spoke roughly. “Yeah, well, Ladybug’s not here. And we don’t know what to do, but while she’s gone I’m in charge, and I say we stay here.”

  
Chloe snorts. “Well, Adrikens. Good for you for finally trying to assert authority over these losers.” Eyeroll. “But now’s not exactly the best time. As far as we know, the radiation is spreading. Ladybug doesn’t seem to be a very high priority right now.” Snarls and grumbles all around. Chloe sneers. “So if she’s not coming back-” Luka stood abruptly, knocking his chair to the floor with a crash.

  
“She is coming back!”

  
Chloe didn’t pay any attention to him. “If she does come back, it will be of her own power. We have other things to worry about.”

  
“WHAT?!” Adrien reeled his head to face towards Chloe, fury ablaze in his eyes. “Are you saying that-that-" he spluttered at the absurdity of Chloe’s words. “That our survival is more important than Ladybug’s?!” The others, who had been following, winced. Alya discreetly facepalmed. “Okay, well, I didn’t mean it like that.” Adrien frantically backtracked. “But, still, that’s just…" he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, his rage diluted with shame. Of course the rest of them were important. But Ladybug was- was just as important. They were equally important. Yes.

  
He nodded to himself, trying to convince his traitorous heart that anyone could ever be equal to Ladybug.

  
Alya broke the moment of tension and stepped toward Chloe, eyes narrowed. “Let’s not forget, Chloe Bourgeois, that you are staying here out of our mercy! You let the people who deserve a miraculous decide our priorities.”

  
Chloe sniffed. “Well, Cesaire.” She spat Alya’s last name like it was supposed to be an insult. “It seems I still have my miraculous, and Ladybug gave it to me, anyway. And since you all seem to think that her word is law, the fact that I’m not let into your little meetings is ridiculous, utterly ridiculous!”

  
She points at Adrien and shakes her finger. “If anyone should be excluded it’s him! He’s the one who lost her!” Adrien’s expression darkened, and Chloe knew she made a mistake.

  
Alya, vibrating with rage, got up in Chloe’s face and shoved her hard to the ground. She spits her words.

  
“You lost your miraculous the day you decided to join forces with Hawkmoth!” Her voice rises to a shrill pitch, and she raised her hand to smack Chloe across the face, her glare venomous.

  
But Adrien grabs her hand, and when she turns to him, about to smack him too, she falters at his gaze. Adrien glances around the room miserably.

  
“The whole world hates us. I can’t stand any more fighting. Ladybug isn’t here, but we can’t fall apart. Alya, stop trying to slap people. It won’t fix anything.” Chloe snickers and Adrien turns around. “That doesn’t mean I forgive you, Chloe.” His gaze is exhausted. “I never will.”

  
Chloe’s smile fades and Adrien walks past them all. When he reaches the shadowed hall, he turns.

  
“I’m going to try and get a good night’s sleep, for once. I expect to see you all alive and unscathed in the morning.”

  
Ayla and Chloe glare. “Kagami, you take first watch. Make sure no one goes Lord of the Flies.” Kagami nods and walks upstairs.

  
The basement falls quiet.

  
Alya and Nino curl up together on the ratty couch.

  
Luka is slumped against the wall.

  
Even Chloe is off in dreamland, huddled up with Pollen in the far corner. She whimpers in her sleep, and Pollen pats her nose quietly.

  
Kagami sits at the doorway, where she can just barely see the stars.

  
Adrien is asleep, but twitches. Suddenly his eyes pop open.

  
Darkness covers him, and his eyes close. All he sees is Ladybug- she is pleading for him to save her. She screams his name, his other name, over and over until it echoed in his ears and all he can hear is her trusting him over and over and him breaking that trust over and over! But he can’t move. He’s glued to the rubble that Paris has become. Why can’t he save her?!

  
He runs to her again and again but there’s a chain wrapped around his ankle and the cataclysm won’t break it and she’s screaming and he sobs.

  
Blackness enveloped her and he supposed it was supposed to be a mercy.

  
But his horrid green eyes saw through the dark fog and he could still see her writhe, his horrid sensitive ears picked up her every pain, and the power he’d been given was only taunting him.

  
All he wanted to break was the chain, but all he couldn’t break was the chain. Suddenly the screams doubled. She covers her ears as her eyes begin to glow... then the black night is gone and a silhouette is standing by waves crashing on the beach. A flash of lightning strikes, illuminating Chat on the beach. He turns to see his lady falling from the tower in the distance, but he can’t run to save her. The waves hold him fast. All he can do is scream for her, but before her form hits the ground, she is engulfed in purple light and crumbles away.

  
His dreamscape shifts and he is standing in front of the silhouettes of akumatized people, the dreaded glowing mask outlining their eyes.

  
Lightning cracks again. Chat turns and sees his father.

  
“Adrien, I didn’t mean for it to go this far.” Chat screams in desperate fury and runs at his father, face a mess of black tears. Just as his claws hit his father’s immaculate white suit, his father crumbles to dust, as his lady had, and his palms hit the ground, digging deep ridges in the earth.

He wakes to screams.

  
The walls are shaking.

  
He looks around for Kagami frantically and sees her cramming her belongings into a duffel bag, pulling on a jacket. She grabs Adrien's hand without thinking, then blushes. “Adrien, something has happened. We have to leave. Now.”

  
Adrien looks around, bewildered. “What is it?”

  
There is a large banging sound. Chloe screams. Adrien abandons his corner and runs to the doorway, hanging out into the stairwell. “Chloe?!” His voice cracks. Chloe is on the ground crying. Adrien falls on one knee to aid his injured friend. “Chloe?!” he pleads and grabs her shoulders. She turns around to face him, her face twisted in agony.  
“I got d-dirt on my shirt!”

Adrien sighs in relief and Nino pulls Chloe up, saying “Move it, woman, we got to go!”

  
Adrien pulls on a hoodie and runs outside. Rena Rouge and Viperon are already outside, staring into the sky with grim expressions.

  
Adrien looks around frantically. “What is it?! What’s happened?!" he looks at the JumboTrons on the sides of skyscrapers and backs away. Kagami grabs his hand to steady him. The radiation symbol is flashing.

  
Announcements boom around downtown, calling for immediate evacuation. Another bang sounds to the left.

  
Rena sees them first and steps back, her mouth open in horror.

  
Adrien’s eyes widen.

  
Hundreds of people are stampeding down the streets screeching.

  
Then the tide is on them.

  
A man falls down in front of them and begins to have what looks to be a seizure. Kagami kneels beside him trying to see what’s wrong with him. Her voice is rising with panic. “Excuse me? Sir?!”

  
A growl. The man’s eyes fly open, glowing violet. He grabs Kagami’s throat, and her eyes widen. She claws at his hands, but he’s strong. Too strong.

  
Rena flies into action, and screeches “OH HELL NO!” She grabs her flute and slams it against the man’s knuckles. He falls back, hissing and rubbing his hand.

  
Kagami falls back and Adrien pulls her up and holds her close.

  
The man lunges towards them, and more purple eyes glow in the crowd behind him.

  
Rena slams her foot against his face and he falls down. “Go.” She looks down an alleyway and she and Carapace prepare to cover the other’s exit. The mob begins to close in. More fall.

  
She turns and yells. “Go!”

  
The group runs into the alleyway. Rena and Carapace are beating back people trying to follow them. Kagami pulls them down the shadowy side street. They all keep running, following Viperon as he ducks around corners and over the rubble.

  
As they run, Adrien grabs Plagg out of his kangaroo pocket, asleep. He groans.

  
“You have got to be kidding me." he shakes Plagg like a rattle. Plagg mumbles “Camembert oh how I love y- Ah!” he yelps at the sight of daylight. Adrien grins. “Claws out!”  
A familiar green flash races over him. The others follow, assuming their supernatural forms.

  
After many more twists and turns to escape the mob, the six eventually climb over a wall that dumps them into a small tent camp. About ten people turn and stare mouth at them, gaping.

  
Chat Noir gives an awkward wave and smile. Nino gives a small “hi.” Suddenly a boom echoed through the cityscape, and the buildings around them shuddered. The team whips around. Chat pulls out his staff and holds it like a sword. Another explosion, closer. This time the sound comes from right beside them, and a purple light bursts out from the nearest building.

  
“Shield!” Carapace cries, and green energy wraps around them. Violet light bounces off and everyone is knocked off their feet.

  
When the dust clears, the purple light is gone and no one is harmed. Chat Noir stares at the hole in the building, and purple flames that rim the outline of it. Kagami turns to Chat, brow furrowed. “That’s the same light from when Ladybug disappeared...”

  
Rena Rouge stands up and rubs her head. “Well no shit, Sherlock! I’m more concerned about what it did to those people.” She gestures to the tent camp, where people huddle. They had been included in Carapace’s bubble, Chat noticed, as evidenced by the fact that their tents were still standing.

  
Chloe scoffed. “They seem fine to me.”

  
Viperon whispered. “I don’t want to think about what happened to Marinette. Especially if it was similar to what happened with the rest of the city.”

  
Rena winces, remembering Marinette. She had been careful not to think too hard about her. “Marinette is a resourceful person.” She assured Viperon. “If anyone can come out of this hell a-ok, it’s her.” Viperon smiles.

  
Suddenly there’s a click from behind Viperon. A civilian stands, holding a gun to the back of his head.

  
“You! I’ve heard about you, you traitors! You’re the reason this is happening in the first place. I-I won’t let you hurt my family!”

  
Viperon glances behind him. “We didn’t do anything," he says through gritted teeth. Adrien sees the families gathered together watching the man holding the gun against someone’s head. How can they think this is okay?

  
Viperon raises his hands but keeps his voice steady. “Put the gun away before you hurt yourself. Please, monsieur.”

  
The man sneers and presses the gun hard against Viperon’s head. He winces. “Give me one good reason not to pull the trigger.”

  
Carapace talks nervously “I mean, we did save you.” The man squints at Carapace. “From the whole purple missile bomb thing.”

  
The man yells. “You’ve had enough time to hide!”

  
Rena steps up to the man, crossing her arms and slouching into her hip. “We’re not who you think we are. You think we could do all this?” She gestures to the ruined landscape, the crumbling city. “We're just kids.”

  
Queen Bee yelps in indignation. “I am NOT just a kid!” She stamps her foot, flounced ponytail swinging wildly. Everyone stares. She sniffs and stomps again. “Now HE” She points at Viperon, the perfect picture of disgust. “HE is a peasant. A mere ‘kid’. And he’ll show you, too.” She swings her hips. Does a little ‘go ahead’ gesture. “Well? Detransform, you imbecile.”

  
Viperon squints at her, then sighs. “Well, Mme. Bourgeois, if you look closely, you will see that I happen to have a gun. Against. My head.”

  
The man sighs a little but eases the pressure at the back of his head. “Well?" he says gruffly.

  
Viperon winced. “Scales in.” Turquoise light blazes over him and Sass appears, annoyed. The man lurches back and screeches in surprise, gun clattering to the ground.  
“BUG! MOUSE! BUG-MOUSE!” accompanied by a lot of flailing.

  
Sass stares at him then turns back to Luka and raises his blue eyebrows. Luka shrugs in response. Luka’s eyes go to the discarded pistol.

  
The man lunges to grab it, but Luka is faster. He snatches the gun and chucks it into the distance.

  
A window smashes audibly, and the superheroes all wince.

  
Chloe flips her hair.

  
“See? Couldn’t even handle a gun. What a plebian. I, on the other hand. I am the illustrious Chloe Bourgeois! Also known as Queeeeeeeen BEEEEE!” She curtseys. “I know, I know, my glory pains your mortal eyes.” She glares at him. “I’m certain you’ve heard of me.”

  
The poor guy looks at her, confused. “I’m sorry, who?”

  
Chloe screeches, “YOu WhAt?!”She immediately launches the man into a history lesson/lecture on the importance of Chloe Bourgeois and Queen Bee.

  
Everyone else rolls their eyes at her.

  
Chat starts looking around, planning their quick escape for when Chloe’s current conversation started going south, which it would inevitably.

  
He noted the still intact rooftops to the east. They were less likely to crumble as he and the others raced over them.

  
“So" he mused. “That’s the plan, then. Towards the Seine.”

  
Chat stares at Chloe as she babbles on to the man.

  
Alya steps in. “As you can see, sir, the only threat here is to your sanity.”

  
He elbows Luka, and motions to the eastern break in the rubble.

  
The pop-pop-pop of machine gunfire in the distance.

  
The baby a mother is holding begins to cry.

  
“Listen,” Chat says, stepping between the triangle of conversation. “You’re going to have to trust us right now.”

  
He glances towards the rooftops in the East.

  
Luka nods. “It’s the only way.” The man starts. “What do you mean?”

  
“Nothing.”

  
A gasp from the tents set up in the alleyway.

  
“Luka?” A quiet voice ventures from the darkness. “Is that you?”

  
Luka starts. “Who said that? Who’s there?”

  
Juleka emerges. He gasps a little.

  
The man turns to Juleka, furious. “What are you doing?! Get back!”

  
Juleka ignores him. “I thought you were dead!”

  
She runs to Luka and hugs him fiercely. “We all did,” she whispers.

  
Luka is in shock- he wasn’t expecting to find anyone he loved alive.

  
“We?" he whispers, not daring to hope to find Marinette. “Who else is... here?”

  
Juleka’s eyes fall. “Not who you want. I don’t know where Mom is. The wave that went over the river...” She broke off, hugging Luka tighter. Luka was hit by a wave of guilt. He had forgotten about his mother and sister in search of Marinette. “She was on the boat. I didn’t want to go looking. I’m sorry. I was too afraid of what I might find.”

  
Luka held his sister tighter. “Hey- it’s okay. Mom’s tough. We all know that. I’m sure she’s holed up somewhere safe.”

  
Juleka wiped her nose on his shirt. To Luka’s credit, he didn’t flinch. “Thanks, brother. You’re right. I’m glad you’re here.”

  
She stood up, straightened her hair out. “But you need to get going. It’s not safe here. These people are my friends, but hey don’t take kindly to strangers. You’d be welcome, I’m sure, but the others...”

  
She glanced nervously at Chat, who pulled the hood a little farther down over his face. “I don’t know.”

  
Luka straightened his sweatshirt. “We’ll go. Are you okay here? I can’t bring you where we’re going.” His face fell. “I’m sorry I can’t protect you.”

  
Juleka smiled sadly, and placed a hand on Luka’s shoulder. “No worries, brother. I’m in a good place now. And old enough to take care of myself. I’ll find you when all this blows over, yeah?”

  
Luka smiled, and ruffled her hair. “Yeah.”

  
Rena cleared her throat. “Luka. We need to move. I don’t like the look of those clouds.”

  
She jerked her head at the sky grimly, where thick black stormheads were gathering on the horizon. Lightning flashed, and the wind picked up all the sudden. Chat nodded in agreement.

  
Luka sighed, and waved to Juleka as he began to back away in the direction of the others.

  
“See ya, brother.” Juleka whispered as she watched him retransform, his silhouette quickly vanishing over the rooftops. “Stay safe...”

  
Debris began to whistle through the air. The man started shouting orders into the alleyway, and tarps appeared seemingly magically. Juleka huddled with the others as the rain began to patter their makeshift roof. She shuddered.

  
The storm had just begun.


	2. Found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poor Luka.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the positive feedback on my first chapter- I was blown away by the support it received. Thank you guys so much! Also just FYI my posting schedule is super erratic- terribly sorry. Just a warning in advance.

They leaped over rooftops. 

Chat’s mind briefly drifted back to his first time doing this, who was beside him. 

In his nostalgia, he narrowly missed falling through a yawning hole that wasn’t usually there. 

The landscape had changed since those days. The whole city was falling to ruin.   
Because he failed. Because Ladybug was... 

He barely missed another gash in the roof, and the cold sting of adrenaline brought him back to reality. 

“You okay, dude?” Carapace called. “Near about took a plunge there.” 

“Yeah.” Chat called over the street. “Yeah, I’m okay. Just distracted.”

“Well, don’t be.” Carapace laughed nervously. “Wouldn’t want to lose another..." he trailed off as he saw Chat’s expression. “Never mind. Just keep going, dude.” 

Chat grumbled under his breath. “Keep going. Easy for him to say.” 

Kagami flew beside him. “We have reached the river. Where to next?”

Chat stopped for a second, then sat down, legs dangling off the eaves of some apartment building. He sighed, then looked down at the cracked street with heavy eyes. 

“You know, to be honest, I don’t really know. This isn’t my line of expertise." he hunched over and drew his knees to his chest. “Ladybug is always the one who does this sort of stuff. Leading and stuff. I’m just better at following. Y’know?”

Kagami sits down beside him. “You really miss her.” She says, not wasting words. Not like everyone else did. “You need her.”

Chat looks up, tears brimming in his green eyes. 

“Yeah.”

Kagami looks at him, fire in her eyes. “Yet you refer to her in the present tense.”   
She said.

Chat looked at her, confused. “I... what?”

You said she ‘is’ the one who ‘does’. Not ‘was’ the one who ‘did’.

Chat looked away. 

Kagami turned his face to her. “Do you know why?”

Chat shook his head silently.

Kagami stares into his eyes. “It is because you know she is alive.” Chat opened his mouth, then closed it. “I...” 

“Chat! Come quick!” Chat whipped around, toward Rena, who had called his name frantically. “What?" he yelled, slipping and sliding over loose tiles as he scrambled up to the roof’s peak. His breath caught as he saw what Rena had. There was someone stretched out on the banks of the Seine. And a tidal wave was rushing straight for her. 

Marinette. 

“MARINETTE!” Chat screamed, but the wind tore his scream away and tossed it into the storm. Marinette didn’t move. Chat ran for the river. He ran fast, nearly as fast as he had when the Eiffel Tower was coming down on Ladybug. Marinette didn’t stir, didn’t lift her head. The wave was roaring closer, the Seine swelled with the rain pouring out of the sky. Chat ran faster, clearing ten-foot gaps like cracks in a sidewalk. 

Pictures of Ladybug flashed behind his eyelids every time he blinked rain away. Ladybug in the stadium. Ladybug comforting a victim. Ladybug on the news, laughing nervously as they were presented as a couple. 

Her righteous fury. 

Ladybug as smoke swelled and the Eiffel Tower crumbling over her, Ladybug with purple lighting coursing over her, Ladybug gone... 

He reached her just before the wave did. He grabbed her and pulled her close. Then grey water slammed into him, and he nearly lost her in the raging water. The current twisted them over and over, and bits of debris sliced through the dark water, just missing them every time. He pulled Marinette close.   
Or was it Ladybug? He didn’t know anymore. All he knew was that he couldn’t lose her. Not again. 

Chat opened his eyes, then immediately slammed them closed. The world spun, and his head spun with it. But then he remembered and forced himself awake. He sat up, and immediately regretted it. Blood pounded in his ears, and his whole body protested as he swung his legs over the side of the cot he didn’t remember laying down on. 

He moved his head as quickly as his aching neck would permit, searching for Lady... Marinette. 

He spotted her on a cot on the other side of the small room, an IV line in her hand. Where had that come from? 

Suddenly, he heard the door creak open. He whipped around, and yelped in pain. Kagami stuck her head in, and when he saw her he relaxed a little, and pulled himself up so he was sitting against the wall. 

“Hey." he croaked.

“Hello. How do you feel?” She wasted no time crossing the room to feel his forehead. “Normal.” She stated. 

Chat squinted up at her, the harsh lights hurting his eyes. “No one else come to visit?" he joked, then hacked a cough. 

Kagami glared at him disapprovingly. “This is my shift.” she said. “For the first day, everyone but Alya sat here. Now we have more important things to do than stare at you.” 

“Where’s Alya been?”

“With Marinette. Guess she trumps you in the ‘best friend’ department.”

Chat looked over. No Alya. 

Kagami saw his confusion. “She’s taking a short coffee break. She’s been up all night, and Nino was worried she was going to pass out. I’m covering for her- not watching you.” She blushes slightly.

Chat sighed, and looked back at Marinette. 

“I thought she was Ladybug." he whispered. Kagami sat down on the edge of his cot. “When we were in the river. I nearly lost her, and for a second I thought she was Ladybug and all I could think was that I couldn’t lose her again. I can still remember it, and I’m not quite convinced it wasn’t real. I can’t convince myself I wasn’t thinking right, no matter how hard I try.” 

His voice broke. He looked up at Kagami, tears welling. “Am I going crazy? Every time I look at her, every time I close my eyes..." he buried his head in his hands. “I see her everywhere." he whispers. 

Kagami places a hand on his shoulder. “You love her.” She states simply. “There is no denying it.” She tilts his face up. “You will see her again. There is no denying that either.” She narrows her eyes at him. “The question is what you will do to get her back.”

Chat whispers- 

“Anything.” 

Kagami folded her arms across her chest, a reminder to herself to not let Adrien Agreste into her heart again. Yet, she couldn’t help feeling a twinge of pain in her heart as she watched him stare at Marinette. As long as Adrien believed in something, she knew there was still hope. 

She turned to leave just as Luka thrusted open the curtains that gave the three of them some privacy. His eyes searched the room until they landed on Marinette and his face suddenly seemed to flush with color. 

“Something’s wrong.” Luka talked feverishly, stumbling over his words. “The people, the disappearances-they’ve..” 

Adrien got up from his seat and crossed over to Luka. “What is it?” 

He opened his mouth as if to answer, but instead took Adrien’s forearm and led him into what resembled a living room. 

Pillows were thrown haphazardly onto the ground and the walls were adorned with bullet holes. 

A cracked painting lay on the ground at his feet depicting a family. This was Alya’s apartment. 

Alya was about to fall off the L-shaped couch, leaning forward in an effort to strain her eyes to see the ruined TV screen. 

Though it was hard to see, there were mobs of people flooding the infected areas of Paris. They were waving their hands in the air and running around like chickens with their heads cut off. 

It was either static or sparks that Chat saw reflected in the skies the TV screen tried to display. 

A voice rang through the small room, “There, right there!” Chloe had gotten from her seat and was pointing directly at the TV. Alya turned towards Chloe, her eyes puffy and red. Had she been crying? 

“Pointing and yelling there isn’t helping me understand what you want, Chloe.” Chloe, not breaking eye contact with the screen, bent down next to Alya. “Pause it, I’ll show you!” Chloe lunges towards the remote and Alya holds it out of her reach. 

“It’s a live news report, genius!” Chloe pulled on Alya’s hair and Alya slapped her across the face, the two began to slap each other’s hands like petty little velociraptors. 

Chat quietly detransformed. Plagg grumbled in approval at the catfight, then drifted off in the direction of the kitchenette. 

Adrien turned to the TV and saw the news reporter zoom in on the crowd. A mob stampedes down the Champs-Elysées. Lightning crackles over the crowd. Adrien winced as a mother screamed as her child fell from the rooftop down into the merciless crowd. 

“Turn on subtitles.” Luka said. He squints at the girls, and grabs the remote from Alyas hand. He pushes some buttons and the scene comes to life. 

“- Weeks after the first mobs affected by the surge launched attacks on the survivors in Paris, authorities have noticed strange aftereffects. As well as these odd violet flashes, gang violence has been on the rise, resulting in countless civilian casualties.”

The scene shows the corpse of a child lying on the ground. Alya leaps up from her spot and runs over to the TV. She clamped a hand over her mouth and tears filled her eyes. Nino hugged her close and turned her face away from the screen. Alya’s sobs racked the room.

“Ella..” 

Adrien then recognizes the corpse. Alya’s little sister. 

“We have reason to believe these sudden bursts of power are not only related to the energy surge.” The newscaster’s tone drops, and she looks down at her notes.  
“But, in the light of new evidence surrounding markings on certain corpses,” A picture taken with a cell phone is shown. A butterfly, outlined in ash on someone’s cheek. “Hawkmoth as well.” 

Adrien growls.

Throughout the night Alya’s sobs could be heard through the tiny apartment. When they finally died down, Adrien snuck out of the guy’s room. (Although since Nino and Alya were a thing and Chloe hated all the girls, it ended up Adrien, Luka, and Chloe.) 

He crept down the hall to check up on Marinette, only to find Alya standing over her, staring blankly at her face. Alya didn’t have to look up to know Adrien was there. 

“She doesn’t deserve this.” Alya whispered.

Adrien looked down at Marinette. 

“Deserve what?” 

Alya spread her arms around the room “This!” Her voice grew soft. “Everything...” hot tears began to fall from her eyes, and she buried her face into her hands. “Everything she loves is gone. Her home, her family, her life. She doesn’t deserve any of this. She was so good! What can I even say when she wakes up, that her entire world is gone?” 

Adrien swallows, but his tongue feels like cotton and takes up his whole mouth. Alya wipes her eyes. “She’s just always been there for everyone. She supported me when things got rough, she never hurt anyone! Why do bad things happen to good people? Why should she have to go through this?!” She is hysterical in tears. She wipes her nose, then looks up at Adrien. Her wet face glints in the moonlight. “I guess we all have someone like that, huh?” 

Adrien closes his eyes, remembering Ladybug. “Yeah.” 

He walks over to Alya and sits next to her. Marinette’s cot creaks under them. 

Alya stiffens, her breathing rapid. 

“But life moves on." he murmurs. “And we have to stay strong, even though things may never be the same again.” 

A moment.

Then Alya breaks down in Adrien’s arms and sobs hysterically. Adrien holds her as the moonlight wanes, and night shifts to morning. 

Light is flooding through the blinds and into the room. Alya is asleep beside Marinette, their hands entwined and a puddle of drool quivers beside her. Alya shifts, and groans as the light hits her eyes, glasses askew. 

Alya turns over. Marinette is staring at her, smiling a little. 

Alya’s eyes widen and she hugs Marinette fiercely. Silent tears fill her eyes.   
“You’re not dead.” she whispers.

Alya turns and screeches out the door to everyone that Marinette is awake. 

Kagami and Chat are back from their watch and don’t detransform, but run after everyone down to the makeshift hospital room. Luka is the first one in. 

Marinette cries when she sees everyone and they all take turns fawning over her, except Chloe, leans against the wall. 

Chat’s eyes flood with tears, and he runs to hug Marinette. But suddenly the atmosphere crackles, and she snarls. 

Her hands lock on his throat. 

Alya screams and tries to break her grip. Marinette’s eyes glow purple and Chat gags as he tries to squirm away. Alya and Nino break Marinnette’s grip and Chloe and Kagami hold Mari backs as she screams and tries to thrust herself out of her bed at Adrien. Her eyes are purple and Adrien watches horrified as Marinette claws at him, screaming awful things. Chloe grabs a needle off the bedside table and quickly jabs Marinette in the shoulder with it. Marinette almost immediately passes out with a thud. 

A moment of silence.

Everyone stares at Chloe and Nino yells “Chloe!” Chloe stands there holding the syringe. “Well, what did you want me to do?!”

Chat is backed up against a wall, terrified. He rubs his throat and feels something sticky. He pulls his hand away and looks down. Blood. 

He knows it’s not his. 

“Alya," he says quietly. Everyone turns to him. Luka is hunched protectively over Marinette’s unconscious form. 

“She’s bleeding" he says simply. Alya gawks at him for a second, then quickly scans Marinette. Suddenly, she grabs Marinette’s hand and turns it over.   
Blood is caked on the back of her hand. Alya spits, then starts rubbing the blood away. Everyone flinches. 

“Gross. Utterly gross” Chloe mutters. Once the blood is washed off, Alya gasps and stumbles back.

The butterfly is clearly visible. 

Luka looks around at the others, then at Marinette’s hand. 

He quickly hustles everyone outside and into the living room. 

“Okay, okay." he breathes deep. “We have to take caution." he says. “It’s obvious now. Hawkmoth can see through her. Or something. Isn’t that how it usually works with akumatized people?” Luka looks at Chat, who has been sitting on the couch blankly. He looks up. 

“Oh. Yeah. At least, that’s what Ladybug thought.” Chat looked back down, then curled in on himself on the couch, rubbing his throat.   
Luka clears his throat. “Right. So we need to be careful about what she sees. Hawkmoth knows all of our identities except Chat Noir’s, and it is imperative that he not discover it. Therefore, Adrien will have to remain as Chat Noir at all times.” 

“What?!” Chat stood up. You think I’m going to stay like this 24/7?!”

“That’s right, cat-boy.” 

“You must be crazy! I refuse to-“

Luka stood. “To what? Keep your identity a secret? You really want Hawkmoth to know you’re his SON?”

The room got quiet.

“Low blow, Luka.” Nino mumbled. 

Chat crossed his arms. “Well, at least I’m atoning for it. Hawkmoth may be my father, but that doesn’t mean he’s my dad. Besides, how many times have I been akumatized? None? And how about you, Silencer?" he sneered. “How many people did you nearly kill?”

“I DID IT FOR MARINETTE AND YOU KNOW IT!”

“Oh really? Where were you when Marinette was about to get washed out to sea, huh? Who saved her?!”

“Only because she reminds you of YOUR old fling, who, let me remind you, YOU COULDN'T SAVE!”

Chat flinched. 

Kagami stirred, and laid a hand on Luka’s shoulder. “That’s enough, Luka." he shrugged her off. “YOU DIDN’T SAVE HER!" he screams.

Kagami yells “THAT’S ENOUGH!”

But the damage is done. Luka turns, and Chat Noir is gone. 

The night air is clear and clean. Chat can’t remember the last time he saw the stars, but they’re beautiful tonight. The crystalline lights twinkle and the moon is full. He leans back to take it all in, for once not plagued by regrets. 

A rustle behind him. Chat turns wearily, but when he sees Marinette he jumps back in fright. 

“Chat?” she whispers. He tilts his head, confused. “Chat, where am I?”

“M-Marinette? Is everything okay?” Still keeping a healthy distance between them.

“Yeah. I just needed some air.” 

She carefully sits down beside him, and he warily does the same, still keeping one eye on her hands. 

“You’re shivering." he notes. Marinette shrugs. “Here," he says, and wraps the quilt he brought up around her shoulders carefully. 

She stares up into his eyes, and he notices how the moonlight accentuates her blue eyes, so that they are radiant, reflecting the night sky back at him. They stay like that for what seems like forever, a moment of peace forged. 

She breaks the spell, looking away as she draws the quilt tighter around her shoulders. “Thank you.” she murmurs. 

“Uh, yeah. Sure." he says. They sit awkwardly for a long time. 

Then Marinette speaks. “The stars are beautiful tonight.”

“Yeah." he says.

“I never used to be able to see the stars. But now that the city has no power...” she trails off, then shrugs. “Not as much light to compete.”

“Yeah." he seems to have lost the ability to communicate properly. Marinette takes a deep breath. “Alya told me what happened when I woke up.”

Chat shrugged.

She looked at him, tears welling. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t myself.”

“Yeah.”

“If I ever start doing it again...”

His eyes flick to her, full of fear. “Yeah?”

She looks at him, dead serious. “Don’t hold back to stop me.”

Chat flinches.

“I’m serious, kitty! If I really did hurt you...” she buries her head in her hands. “I don’t know what I’d do.”

Another silence falls over them. They sit like that for a long time. 

Chat looks over sleepily, about to say something, when he realizes that she’s asleep on his shoulder. He smiles softly, then gathers her up in the quilt and carries her to the stairs. 

Before heading down, he turns to the stars one last time. They glow comfortingly, and he can see more and more similarities between the sky and Marinette’s eyes. He smiles. He might see them both differently now.

Then turns and carries Marinette down the stairwell. He enters her room and lays her down on her cot, reattaches her IV. He tucks the quilt in around her, and, after a moment of hesitation, brushes some loose hair away from her face. 

Then he turns and closes her curtains, and goes to his own cot. 

He doesn’t see Luka sitting in the shadows by Marinette’s cot. 

Luka, who saw him come in and lay her down. 

Luka's eyes burning with jealousy.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is kinda short compared to two, but I'm trying to space them out plot-wise. Terribly sorry.

Chloe was laying on the couch, tossing a spatula up in the air and catching it. Alya was sitting at the table with her head in her hands. Every time Chloe caught the spatula she would mutter “utterly.” Over and over. 

Finally, Alya turned and snapped at her. 

“Would you stop?!” 

Chloe glares, then sticks her tongue out at Alya and throws the spatula at her head. Alya tries to catch it and misses.   
Chloe snickers, then jumps up and starts prowling the kitchen cabinets. “What do we have to eat? I’m simply dying for some good confit de canard.” 

Alya scowled. “Nino went out to scrounge something up a couple of hours ago. He should be back by dinner. Don’t worry.” Alya glances nervously at the door.

Suddenly, Kagami appears in the door opposite. “Do not worry, Rena. He will be back.”

Alya starts, and turns to Kagami in surprise. “Where did you come from?” She asks. 

“I was helping Marinette.” she says. 

“What do you mean?” Alya says suspiciously.

“She was in a fragile emotional state. I assisted her.”

Alya snorted. “What are you, the resident psychiatrist?”

Kagami stares off into the distance. “I suppose.”

Chloe sniffs. “Oh, please. You don’t have to be a genius to break someone down. See?” She points at Alya. “She likes Nino.” She points to Luka, who just walked in. “He likes Marinette.” Luka goes red and quickly walks out. “I, obviously, am destined for Adrikins, and you” points at Kagami “think you can have him, but you can’t.” 

Everyone is speechless. 

“See?” Chloe flips her hair. “It’s really not that difficult.” 

Alya humphs, then glances at the door. She turns and flumps down on the couch, throwing a pillow over her head. 

Kagami is shaken. She turns to Chloe. “It is not what you think.” 

Chloe snorts. “Of course it is. You think I haven’t seen the way you look at him?”

Kagami shakes her head. “He is my responsibility. That is all.”

Chloe sneers. “What on earth is that supposed to mean?” 

Kagami is about to respond when a yell echoes down the hallway. “ALYA! IT’S HAPPENING AGAIN!”

Alya groans. “Again!?” 

She races down the hall to Marinette’s makeshift hospital room, turning the corner to see Luka holding a struggling Marinette against the wall. Marinette’s eyes glow purple and she thrashes against Luka’s grip, purple lightning crackling over her. Alya reaches her just as Kagami and Chloe turn the corner to see, Chloe clutching a steak knife she must have grabbed for insurance. 

Alya tries to grab Marinette’s wrist, but jerks back with an unholy screech, shaking her hand. “A lightning thingy got me,” she said, shaking her hand out more. “How are you...” Luka’s being shocked by Marinette’s hands too, and he’s still trying to keep her to the wall. 

“I will get Chat Noir!” Kagami says, and runs back the way she came. 

Chat is sitting on the roof, watching the aid helicopters pass overhead. He hears pounding footsteps and turns to see Kagami slam open the stairwell door. 

“Hey," he says. “What’s going-“

“It is Marinette. He has her again.”

Chat’s eyes widen, and he immediately runs for the stairwell door, nearly shoving Kagami to the ground in his hurry. He can hear Marinette screeching and Luka yelling for him to hurry. 

He races down the stairs and turns the corner in time to see Luka collapse, twitching, and Marinette bursting free, lunging for the kitchen knife in Chloe’s hand. Chat yells and dives to intercept, but he’s too late. She snatches the knife and, with a snarl, turns and lunges for Chat. He tries to dodge but trips over Luka, lying unconscious, and falls to the floor. Before he can regain his senses, Marinette pins him to the floorboards. She puts the knife against his throat and reaches for his ring. Chat scrabbles to get away, but his resistance is futile. Her fingers tug at his, the ring slipping off little by little-

Suddenly, a meaty thunk, and Marinette’s head snaps forward. 

Blood sprays. 

She whips around with a howl of rage to see Carapace standing in the doorway, his shield snapping back in place. Chat sees a chance, and tries to push Marinette away, but she howls and slices at him wildly with the knife. It catches the side of his neck, where the skin is exposed, and cuts deep. 

Another thunk and Marinette falls on top of him, unconscious. 

Chat passes out. 

Carapace is standing over them, shield poised at the back of Marinette’s head. 

The last traces of the lightning fade from Marinette, and they lie together in a growing pool of blood.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just going back to all the chapters that don't have notes and noting them, cause it's two in the morning and I'm supposed to be writing the next chapter buuuut procrastination, am I right? :P

Chat opened his eyes, then slammed them back down. Deja vu hit him like a train- back in a hospital bed. He groaned, then reached up to touch the bandages on his neck. He remembered the knife cutting down, and Marinette’s head snapping forward. Blood everywhere. Flecked on his face, caked in his hair.  
Ladybug falling on him, eyes closed, knife clattering to the floorboards. Not Ladybug. Marinette. He remembered hands dragging her off him, Alya hovering over her, pressing paper towels to her head, Luka stirring from the ground, leaning over Marinette, terrified as he saw the blood.

Chat was bleeding, and no one hunched over him, no one tried to stop his blood from spilling on the floor, and then it all faded. 

And he woke up here. 

Again. 

He looked to the left. Marinette lay on a cot identical to his, an IV running through her arm. Just like last time. 

Chat sat up, and stumbled to his curtain. He wrenched it aside, and made his way slowly down the hall. His head spun like crazy. This time, he didn’t bother going to the kitchen to find the others. He needed to get out of this suit. He stumbled into the tiny bathroom, shut the door as quietly as he could, and locked it.

“Claws in." he whispered. The green flash raced over him, and in a moment, he was Adrien again. For a moment he was relieved, then nearly screamed as a wave of agony washed over him. His neck throbbed, and lances of pain shot over him.  
He laughed bitterly. “Marinette did more damage than I thought." he said quietly to Plagg, who had draped himself over the sink faucet. Plagg groaned in response. 

“Tell me about it," he whined. “Hawkmoth really souped her up, didn’t he?” 

Adrien flinched.

Plagg’s eyes wandered for a second, then snapped back to Adrien. He narrowed his eyes. “Food." he ordered. “Now, puny human.” 

Adrien sighed. “Sir yes sir." he said, halfheartedly saluting. Adrien unlatched the door and hobbled down the hallway, holding the wall for support. He did try to be quiet. It’s the thought that counts. 

Plagg stayed where he was until Adrien’s footsteps faded. Then, he picked himself up and, complaining all the way, zoomed to Marinette’s room. He was at her side in an instant, and performed a quick search. “Tikki!" he stage-whispered. “Tikki!!!" he eventually came to a stop, and rested on the tip of Marinette’s nose. He sighed dejectedly. 

Suddenly, he felt the unnerving sensation that someone was watching him. He turned, and screeched when he saw Marinette’s blue eyes open, staring straight at him. A moment of tense silence. 

Then Marinette smiled. “Plagg.” She cupped her hands, and he drifted down to settle in them. She patted his head with her thumb softly. 

Plagg started to purr. She giggled, then coughed. 

Plagg flinched, then rose. “May I?" he said. 

Marinette lifted her head obligingly, and Plagg inspected the paper towels taped over a large chunk of her head. 

“You need new paper towels." he said, wrinkling his nose at the red seeping through. 

“Yeah, I know.” Marinette whispered. She dropped her head back on the pillow, and Plagg barely escaped being squished.

“Someone’ll come in a minute.” she said, closing her eyes. “Alya gave me a little bell, but I feel terrible about using it.” she pointed with a shaking hand toward the bedside table, where a small bell sat. Plagg scoffed. 

“And why not? You’ve been through enough to deserve a little room service. Breakfast in bed, perhaps?" he did a suggestive tail flick. Marinette laughed bitterly. 

“Plagg, you don’t get it. Alya told me what happened. What I did. I nearly killed Luka. I hurt Chat.” She closed her eyes, exhausted. “I don’t deserve anything, much less breakfast in bed.”

“Hey.” Plagg descended to rest on her hands again. “It’s okay, kid. Not your fault. You didn’t know what you were doing.”

Marinette sighed. 

“Even Ladybug makes mistakes.” Plagg said.

“Marinette stiffened. 

He continued. “You were akumatized. You have an excuse.”

“But it’s not an excuse! I resisted it once, I should be able to resist it again!”

“No, kid. That’s where you’re wrong. You were in a worse state this time. Worse things happening than Lila making fun of you. Seeing your mom held hostage does stuff to you. Heck, maybe you have a better excuse than anyone did.”

Marinette sighed. 

“Maybe, Plagg. But still." she looked out the window longingly. “I should have done something. I should have-“ she gasped, once. 

Then her eyes started to glow. 

Plagg moved back as she rose, her hands crackling with purple lightning. A low laugh echoed through the room. 

“You think you can save her, do you?” Plagg stood his ground as Marinette spoke in a voice not her own.

“That’s right." he said stubbornly. “What’s it to you?”

Marinette smiled, and her eyes glowed a little brighter. 

“Everything.” 

Then her eyes went dark, and she collapsed back onto the cot. Plagg shivered. He hated when stuff like this happened. He could hear Adrien whisper-calling. He left through the walls, and was back in the bathroom. Adrien stood, hands on his hips.  
“Where were you?" he demanded. 

“Visiting an old friend.” Plagg said innocently. Then, in a moment of cheek, stuck his tiny tongue out at the blonde. “What’s it to you?”

Adrien glowered at him, then tossed a block of cheese on the counter. “There. Eat as much as you can- we might have to go a while as Chat Noir.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Plagg grumbled. “Oh," he said in between bites of cheese. “You should probably check on your lady friend.” 

“Huh?” Adrien was confused. Did he mean Kagami?

“Marinette.” Plagg clarified. Adrien paled. 

“Why would I-“

“Hold up.” Plagg stopped eating for a second, then sniffed the cheese. “WHAT???" he screeched. “THIS IS NOT CAMEMBERT!!! THIS IS PEASANT CHEESE!!” 

“I-”

“THIS IS CHEDDAR!!!!”

“We don’t live on Gabriel Agreste’s salary anymore, Plagg. That means peasant cheese.”

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO”

“Claws out!”

“YOU FILTHY LITTLE...”

Adrien transformed in a familiar green flash, and rolled his healed neck. 

“Much better." he said. 

He eased the door open, and stepped out into the hall. He slunk down to Marinette’s room, and started when he saw her crumpled on the floor.

“Marinette!" he cried, rushing to her side. He lifted her back onto her cot, checked her over to make sure she was okay. What happened? How did she... his heart stalled for a moment. If Hawkmoth had taken her over again, even for a moment… but he couldn’t think about that now. Chat made sure her IV was connected properly, then turned and power walked down the hall to the kitchen, where the others were gathered. They all sat around the table in regular form. Chat settled in a chair. 

“Well?" he said. “What did you find that was so important?” Luka scowled at him. 

“Oh, nothing." he said, then pushed a red sphere across the table. “Just the miraculous box.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The new miraculous box is the one after the season 3 finale part 2 if you're confused.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a plan, I swear. I was so prepared. But here we go, off into the unknown... There will be fluff eventually. I just gotta work death and destruction out of my system for a minute here.

Chat studied the sphere. “That doesn’t look like a box." he said skeptically. Luka facepalmed. 

“It was transformed when Fu left. The guardian changed, so the box changed with it.” Luka explained, crossing his arms. “Unfortunately, it can only be opened by the guardian. We can’t give Marinette her miraculous.”

Alya looked up. “Marinette has a miraculous?”

“She didn’t tell you?” Chat said, surprised. “Ladybug gave her the mouse miraculous. But it was returned, and she never wielded it again. Ladybug never gave it again, because she transformed in front of me.” Chat drooped. “If I hadn’t seen, she would have fought in the final battle with us. Probably wouldn’t have ended up in the river.”

A shuffling sound. Marinette appeared in the doorway, dragging her IV pole and wrapped in Chat’s quilt from the night on the roof. 

“I heard you guys talking.” She smiled softly. “I can fill in some holes.” Luka tilted his head. 

“What do you mean?”

Marinette sighed. “Master Fu made Ladybug the guardian. She’s the only one who can open the box.” Everyone groaned and slumped in various positions around the table. “But don’t worry!” Marinette said hurriedly. She smiled. “I have a plan.” 

Chloe held up a hand. “Hold up. How would you know that Ladybug was made the guardian?”

Marinette sighed. “We were... friends.” Everyone gasps. 

“You knew her in real life?” Chat asks, dumbstruck. Marinette smiled nervously and tucked her loose hair behind her ear. “Yes?” Alya screeched. 

“YOU MEAN TO TELL ME YOU KNEW HER THE WHOLE TIME AND NEVER TOLD ME???” 

Marinette waved her hand frantically and stuttered “No! Well, yes. But she had to keep her identity secret! You know that! I revealed mine, only to Chat Noir, and I was never given mine again! Don’t you understand how important this is?” She was pleading now. “If Ladybug was known, Fu would have taken my-her miraculous and left Paris!” 

She turned to them all, eyes wild. Everyone stepped back a bit, and Chat readied himself to hold her back if she flickered again. “You can tell no one.” She ordered, righteous fury emanating. They all flinched. 

Then she cried out dropped to her knees, hand to the back of her head, where blood was sleeping through the bandage, dripping down her neck. Chat ran to hold her up, keep her from falling all the way to the floor. H pushed Luka away to get to her. She looked up at him, eyes pleading. “No one.” she whispered. Then she collapsed in his arms, and was still. 

The kitchen was quiet for a couple moments. Then Chat’s ears twitched, and he looked around, worried. 

“Someone’s coming" he muttered. Kagami looked at him, raised an eyebrow. Then the kitchen started to rattle, and a glass fell off the table and shattered in slow motion. 

“Something’s coming!” Chat cried. Transform, quick! Luka!” Luka turned, a teal flash turning him to Viperon. “Get the box.” 

Viperon turned. “Marinette?” He asked. Chat gritted his teeth.

“I’ve got her. Get the dratted box.” Luka didn’t like it, but he grabbed the box and followed the others out. 

“Take them to the south dam!” Chat yelled to Viperon’s retreating figure. “I’ll catch up." he looked down at Marinette. Carefully unhooked the IV from her hand, pointedly avoiding looking at the bandage taped over the butterfly mark. On second thought, he rewrapped her in the quilt, careful with her head.   
Another glass fell and shattered.

Chat looked up, and quickly gathered Marinette in his arms. Then he leaped up through a new hole in the ceiling, and as he went, looked down. He was horrified by what he saw. What must have been half of Paris was storming the apartment building they had been in a moment ago. Purple flashes rolled over the crowd, and thousands of purple eyes glowed in the dust billowing up. The building collapsed in on itself as Chat turned and raced away, Marinette held tightly in his arms. As he went, thousands of purple eyes tracked him. A low rumble rose as everyone gathered spoke with one horribly familiar voice.   
“There you are.” A mile away already, Chat shuddered. He could hear Hawkmoth. 

He could feel him closing in.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the plan is gone. My friends, this is uncharted territory. Also terribly sorry that chapters are getting shorter- to make up for it I'll try to post more often, at least within a week. I'm trying to break it up plot-wise.

They ran over rooftops, the mob rumbling in the distance. Marinette turned to see dust clouds with purple lightning interspersed within following them.

Chat kept running. Dark clouds began to gather on the horizon. Marinette cried out softly. Chat looked down at her and saw that she was shivering and trying to pull the quilt around herself. He held her tighter and kept going. He could see Viperon and the others in the distance. He was just nearing the river when suddenly he pulled up short. He looked down at his feet, surprised. Marinette looked up at him questioningly. He started to say something, then stopped. His eyes glowed a brighter green than before, and when he started to speak it was quick.

“Marinette, this is Plagg. This is really hard so listen quick-“

Chat’s eyes went dark and he doubled over, retching, then just as quickly straightened. Marinette fell to the ground. His eyes renewed the glow. “Mari, Tikki is here, twenty feet down, but moving fast. You have to find her but don’t transform, somethings wrong with her signal-“ Chat’s eyes darkened again, and he nearly fell over. Then they glowed again. “Go, Mari! You have to do it on your own. Connect and use the energy but not the control-“ Chat fell, and lay still, curled in the fetal position, whining, ears flattened against his head.

Marinette turned to him, shaking him.

“Chat?!” she cried.

She looked down at the dark river flowing fast below her, and thought of Tikki, down there somewhere. She stood shakily, then took a deep breath, and placed her fingers to her temple.

“Okay.” She muttered, breathing hard. “Connect and use the energy.” She took a deep breath.

“Hawkmoth, I know you’re in there.” she whispered. “Come out.” A rumble.  
She gasped, and her eyes went purple.

“Well, if it isn’t Marinette, back from death’s threshold.” she said, as Hawkmoth. She laughed deeply. “You think you can control this? Control ME?” She sneered. “Pitiful.”

Suddenly, her face began to twitch, and her eyes flickered. “What are you-” her eyes flickered back and forth, from her own to the purple, back and back until they were a blur that melded and settled on a solid blue glow.

“Pitiful indeed.” Marinette laughed, in her own voice. Then she dove into the water and was enveloped by darkness.

The water swirled around her, threatening to pull her away. But she was on a mission. She felt the bandage on the back of her head rip away, and it was tossed away. The darkness was overwhelming, and she could hear rain pounding the surface. Her lungs ached, but her limbs were strong. She could feel the power coursing through her, though every moment was a struggle.

Keeping her eyes glowing blue would be a fight to the death. If she lost the tether now her weak body would be torn to shreds by the current. But she had to find Tikki. She was here somewhere, she had to be!

There.

A little spot of light in the dark, swirling abyss. Marinette nearly laughed with relief, but stopped herself just in time. Her strength renewed, and she urged her legs faster. The undertow was stronger down here, and Tikki was traveling faster than Marinette could. She tried to swim parallel to the water’s pull, angling herself downward to put her on a path to intercept her Kwami before they hit the drainage basin.

Drainage basin?!

Marinette’s heart skipped a beat when she saw that the river was swirling down a catch basin that would no doubt lead to the ocean. She swam faster, almost a blur. The akuma’s power infused her, and she was steadily winning the battle for her mind. She beat the water to reach Tikki and she beat back the presence in her head. The dark thing that has lingered in the corners of her mind was now full and present, and it was trying so hard to get inside her, to take control like it had when she nearly killed Chat. But she wouldn’t let it.

Not this time.

The water and the dark thing battled, and their rage clashed in her head. They both wanted to take her, but she had her sights set on her Kwami. Tikki was a small light, closer and closer and THERE! She had her.

Marinette allowed herself a small smile of satisfaction.

“Not today,” she thought. “Neither of you will have me today.”

She swam to the surface, going up much easier than coming down. She was elated- until she saw what waited at the surface.

Marinette surfaced with a desperate gasp. Water flew out, arcing off her hair. She stroked to the edge and pulled herself up, eyes still glowing blue but dimming fast. She turned wildly, looking for Chat Noir. Spotting him about three bridges upstream, she ran towards him. Her eyes dimmed until she was stumbling, but she kept going.

He was still curled in the fetal position, and hadn’t moved since she dove to find Tikki. She was worried for a moment, but saw his chest rising, could hear his deep breaths. She dragged him into the shelter of an abandoned shopfront with the last vestiges of her strength from the akuma. Then she curled into the curve of his body. There was nothing erotic about it. But she knew she would be safe. It felt... right.

So she pulled his arms around her and tucked Tikki against her chest. It was dark, and the rain pounded away outside. But in the front room of a ruined cafe, a girl, a kwami, and a cat slept safely, secure in each other’s arms.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We got some fluff. And the rivalry beginssss... :>

Daylight poked tentatively through the cracked windowpanes. A bold shaft found Marinette’s face and she twitched. 

She groaned “five more minutezzz...” and trailed off, pulling Chat’s arms around her like blanket edges. But then her nose twitched. Was that... leather? Marinette wasn’t working on any leather designs. And why was it so strong? She cracked one eye and looked down suspiciously. Saw Chat’s arm. 

Screeched and jumped up, flailing. She had been sleeping in his arms?! She hated to pull a line from Chloe’s book, but this was ridiculous, utterly ridiculous! And he was... drooling? In her HAIR?! Her spluttering woke Chat, and he opened his eyes blearily. 

“Princess..?” He murmured, still half-asleep. 

“You-you-you- aaaaugh!” 

Chat was confused. “Where am I? What..” 

Marinette stamped her foot. “I can’t believe I-“ 

“Wait.” Chat held up a hand, then paled. “Where are the others?” 

Marinette’s fury began to fade. “I- oh. Oh!” The events of last night came flooding back. 

Chat stood. “We have to find Luka. I told him I would meet him.” 

Marinette’s eyes brightened. “Luka’s here?” she asked hopefully. 

Chat stared. “Yeah. Don’t you remember?” 

Marinette frowned. “Oh. Yes. I just... forgot for a moment.” she said doubtfully. 

Chat looked at her, worried. She smiled tentatively. “I’m fine.” 

Then she nodded, mostly to herself. “Let’s go. I just need to get Ti- something.” 

Chat squinted at her. “Alright. I’ll be outside.” he walked out, and a bell jingled merrily as he opened the door. 

As soon as he was a suitable distance away, Marinette scrambled, searching frantically through overturned tables and chairs. 

“Tikki!” She stage-whispered. “Tikki, where are you?” She saw a little glow under the counter and smiled. But when she crouched to sweep it out with a discarded broom, she gasped in shock and disappointment. 

This was not Tikki.

The thing laying in her hand was small, and curled up shivering. Marinette poked it tentatively. 

“Tikki?” she asked. The creature let out a tiny sneeze, and rolled over, curling around Marinette’s finger. 

It was Tikki, but she was different. Instead of scarlet with dark blue spots, she was a deep blue, almost purple, with crimson spots where her black ones ought to be. Marinette was confused. 

Then it all clicked. The purple flash. 

“It must have been some form of an akuma...” she mused. “But how would that translate?” she began to pace back and forth, lost in an analytical world. 

Suddenly she was interrupted by Chat, calling from the outdoors. “You okay in there?” he called. 

“Yeah.” she called, distracted. “Yeah, I’m fine.” She narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. “But how to get past this without anyone realizing...”

Chat poked his head through the door. 

“Uh... you ready to go?” He cast a worried glance at the for-now deserted street.

“Okay.” Marinette took a deep breath. “I can deal with this later.” 

She pulled Tikki off her finger as gently as she could, and tucked her into her pocket. The bell jingled again as she pushed the door open. 

Chat was inspecting the landscape. “That way.” he said, and pointed. 

Marinette sighed. “Okay. So how are we going to do this?” Chat turned to her, a devilish smile on his face. 

For a moment Marinette saw the old Chat, the Chat from before this mess. 

“Why, you’ll have to ride, of course.” 

Marinette blushed deeply, then carefully schooled her expression back into neutral. 

“All right then. Let’s get this over with.” 

The moment passed, and that Chat slipped back underneath his new, awkward persona. He rubbed the back of his neck. “Y-yeah.” he stuttered. 

He turned around, and Marinette clambered up on his back, fighting the urge to punch him and run away. 

“You good?” Chat turned his head and asked. 

She nodded, biting her lip to expel nervous energy. She was trying so hard not to burst into flames right then and there. 

“Yeah. Go.” 

Chat turned, Marinette clinging to his back, and lept for the nearest rooftop. 

The wind whipped through his hair, blowing it back into Marinette’s face. She coughed and spluttered. He apologized, and she graciously accepted. 

As they traveled, and Marinette figured out how to angle her face to avoid the blond hurricane, the trip became more enjoyable. 

If you didn’t pay much attention to the smoke rising from the rubble, the sky was clear and blue. The air bitterly cold, but the chill was welcome. Marinette hated to admit it, but if the wind had not bit at her constantly, she might have drifted off there.

\--

“We’re here.” 

Marinette lifted her head sleepily. “Wghnnz?” 

Chat turned his head, and grinned. “We’re here. Or, close enough. They’re encamped in a pretty open area. I thought it’d be best to approach on foot.” 

Marinette yawned. “Okay.” 

Chat chuckled softly, and lowered her down to where her feet could touch the ground. As soon as her pink flats (miraculously intact) looked steady, he released her. She stood for a moment, then cried out and her hand went to clutch the back of her head. Her knees buckled and she nearly fell to the ground, but he caught her just in time. 

“Marinette!” 

She whimpered. “I’m okay,” she whispered. “Just startled. You can let go.” 

He slowly moved his hand, and she almost fell again. He tightened his arm around her waist. “Yeah, I don’t think so. That head of yours still isn’t technically healed up.” She winced, remembering that she was actually injured. “Luckily,” he grinned, “I happen to be an excellent crutch.” 

Marinette grumbled, but draped her arm around his shoulders. When her first step nearly sent her tumbling again, Chat just swept her up, not bothering to ask. 

“Just across the threshold.” he quipped, grinning. Then realized what that implied and they both blushed deep. They continued on in silence. 

When they reached a large clearing, they saw concrete slabs propped up in some fashion that would keep off rain. A shout came from the camp, and Marinette saw Viperon run out of the tent cluster, elated. He reached them and snatched Marinette right out of Chat’s arms. He spun her around, laughing with joy. 

Chat stood, empty handed, open-mouthed. Then he recovered from the shock of having his metaphorical weave snatched and snapped “Hey! Careful! Her head!” 

Viperon stopped spinning, but his grin remained. “Sorry, Mari!” He planted a kiss on her forehead. “I’m so glad you’re not dead!” 

Marinette giggled and hugged him as best she could while she was being cradled. “Missed you too, Luka!” 

Chat narrowed his eyes. Marinette’s face hidden in Viperon’s torso, Viperon smiled at Chat. His eyes sneered. Chat could hear him in his head. 

_ Check. Your move, Agreste. _ His hands tightened to fists. Narrowed his eyes. 

_ Just you wait, Couffaine.  _

_ Just you wait.  _


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chat, nooo. Don't be like that...
> 
> Also y'all I promise I'm sorry the chapters are short. We'll say it's for dramatic effect instead of my unmotivated self sucking at editing.

The others had heard Viperon’s cry of joy and came running to greet the wayward twosome. 

Viperon set Marinette down so she could greet Alya properly, but kept a firm hand encircling her hips. No one thought that was out of the ordinary except Chat, of course. 

Nino, Kagami, and Chloe greeted Chat affectionately, Nino throwing an arm around his shoulders, very bro-like. Chloe squealed and hugged. Kagami waved, then turned to Marinette, whom Alya and Luka were still fawning over. 

Before Chat knew it, Marinette was being led away by to get her head rebandaged and Nino was pulling him away to show off the ‘Man Cave’ he built for himself and Alya. 

Chat grinned, oohed and aahed at appropriate points, but his mind was stuck on Marinette. 

Specifically, Marinette and Luka. He thought of Luka spinning her around, how happy she looked. Of how he called her Mari and kissed her freely. His arm around her waist, how she seemed so  _ fine _ with it. 

And then he realized that he  _ hated _ that. 

Nino was showing off the blanket pile that he suggestively called the ‘Honeymoon Bed’. He tried so hard to be happy for his friend, to congratulate him on his success in the love department. He tried so hard not to think about being able to show off his own ‘Man Cave’. 

But he can’t. 

  
  


He can hear them laughing in the distance. Marinette’s pealing bells, and Luka’s low chuckle. Creepy, that’s what it was. 

Night fell. Nino offered to help him prop up some slabs, since it looked like rain. Chat politely declined. He needed to expel some energy. 

Rain was just beginning to sprinkle as he shoved the final concrete chunk in place. He stepped back to survey his work, making sure there were no obvious weak points. He nodded, pleased with himself.  _ Not too bad for a rubble hut. _ He thought. 

He was about to crawl into his cave when a sudden thought struck him.  _ Was Marinette sleeping with LUKA?! _

She definitely wouldn’t be with Chloe.

Probably hadn’t wanted to bother Kagami. If Luka had offered... his heart sank with dread. 

What if Luka and Nino were on the same thinking track? What if Luka had a- he shuddered. 

Decided he’d better go check. 

The downpour began just as he started creeping through the camp. 

Passing Nino and Alya’s construction he made a point of covering his ears as he passed- he did  _ not _ want to hear any of what might be going down in there.

Kagami and Chloe’s were dark and silent. No surprises there. 

There, on the outskirts. Luka’s. 

He peeked through a crack on the north side, but his night vision surprised him. No one was in there. Then his cat ears picked up faint voices. 

There- an overhang, not far from the camp. He crept over, making sure to stay in the shadows. He was going to do this eavesdropping thing properly. He settled in a close hollow, close enough that he could hear what they said over the rain, but not so close that they could see his glowing emerald eyes. 

Luka was speaking. He must have caught them mid-conversation. “You say he’s sweet and kind. What else? Those are pretty standard terms.” 

Marinette sighed. “Well, he’s also funny. Not like fall-out-of-your-chair-laughing funny, but sometimes he’ll make some strange remark or an odd gesture, and it just changes what someone said enough that it has humor to it. Y’know?” 

Chat could hear the scowl in Luka’s voice. “That doesn’t make any sense.” 

“It’s a subtle sense of humor, Luka. Not like how Chat makes puns, but still funny.” He started. She thought his puns were funny? 

“What is Chat Noir’s deal with you, anyway?” Here we go. Here was the good tea. Marinette sighed. 

“It’s complicated. He saved me a couple times.” He had? Other than Befana, Gamer, and Evillustrator, he couldn’t remember any villains after Marinette specifically. In the grand scheme of akumas, that was trivial. “We’ve talked a couple times. Nothing big.” What? They’d spoken when he was stood up by Ladybug and the night in the roof. That wasn’t nothing, was it? 

“He likes you, I think.” 

Chat stiffened. That was preposterous. He liked  _ Ladybug _ . Marinette’s just a good friend. Like a... a little sister. So he had a valid reason to dislike the idea of her dating anyone. 

“W-what?” Marinette stuttered. “No, I...” 

The rain picked up. 

“He misses Ladybug.” 

What? 

“He’s the kind of person who needs to give and receive affection. Now that Ladybug’s... not present, he needs a substitute.” 

She laughed bitterly. 

Chat had to fight to keep from jumping out and arguing with her. He almost missed what she said next. 

“I’m just a stand-in. 

None of it’s real.” 

He couldn’t take it anymore. Chat turned and ran like the coward he was. 

He heard her gasp, knew she saw him. She called for him to come back, cried that she didn’t mean it, by her words were lost in the rain. Chat’s head pounded with the last thing he heard. 

That none of him was real. 

He didn’t stop when he reached his cave- he knew it was the first place she would come looking for him. He kept running. And he told himself that the water running down his mask was rain.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahead of schedule!!! Happy Thanksgiving, y'all.

Marinette was pacing. Luka was in the corner drying himself off with his sweatshirt. 

“Give it a rest, Mari,” he said. 

“I’ve got to go after him. This is all my fault- this is the biggest mistake of my entire life. How can I make it up to him? I have to fix this. Maybe…” 

Luka stood and crossed the cave to her, and put his arms around her waist, pulling her close. She stiffened, then warmed to his touch. She turned to him, eyes pleading. 

“I need your help.” 

Luka sighed. “It’s too late.” 

Marinette stiffened, and pulled away from him. “It’s not too late! I can do something!” 

Luka laughed softly. “I meant it’s too late time-wise. I’ll take you to find him, don’t worry. But you should give him some space. We can go in the morning.” He placed a hand on her cheek, stroking down her jawline, then settling his fingers in the hollow of her neck. “Trust me.” He kissed her softly on the forehead. “In the morning. I swear.” 

Marinette huffed. “Fine.” 

She marched to her cot and curled up. Closed her eyes. 

She gradually slowed her breathing. 

She’d had enough late night check-ins over the years by her parents to be able to fake-sleep pretty well. 

After about ten minutes, Luka’s breathing from his own cot slowed as well. 

Marinette sat up slowly. 

“Luka?” She whispered. 

He didn’t stir. 

She smiled, and started to slowly stand. Her gaze was fixed on the miraculous box in the corner. She knew she could open it- Master Fu had made her the guardian. As long as no one saw and she was able to close it back up... 

Marinette began to pad quietly over to it. Luka stirred, and she froze. 

Once he settled back down, she continued her crawling pace until she reached the box. Taking a deep breath, she placed a hand on the center, where a faint design could be seen in good lighting. 

Closed her eyes, and thought back to the first time she had opened the box. The trigger words that Fu had told her were customizable. Every guardian wanted to remind themselves of something before they opened the box. The last thing they heard before being presented with such an array of power should always be important. 

He told her to make sure she chose something that would always hold meaning. Marinette leaned over the box. 

“Sometimes-“ she hesitated. These words felt sacred. 

She had to be ready. Took a deep breath. The world stilled, and the rain dimmed in the background. Marinette’s ears roared with imagined silence, her heart thumping out of her chest in anticipation. For a moment everything felt as if it was hanging over an abyss.

“Sometimes sacrifices must be made.” 

Everything that had been hanging in her head came crashing down. 

She staggered a little. A huge breath whooshed out of her. She felt like she’d just run a million miles. 

Out of her silence, the box hissed softly. She turned to it, ordeal forgotten. It began to open like a flower, and steam pooled out of it. The gleaming miraculouses lay in the center of the metal flower that was unfolding, and the last wisps of steam drifted down.

Marinette grinned despite the urgency of the situation. She surveyed the familiar stones. In her short time as the guardian, she had acquainted herself with all the kwami and their miraculous. 

Multimouse would make the most sense- Chat knew it was Marinette so it wouldn’t hint that she’d taken the miraculous herself- or she could take another. 

Try to pass herself off as someone else, maybe? Chat was totally oblivious. 

It would probably work, actually. 

After a moment of deliberation, she decided the best way for Chat to be comfortable around her was to use a different miraculous. Something he’d never seen before. A thought struck her. 

There was one miraculous. A long time ago, like the 1800s long ago. 

When the Tokugawa Shogunate’s isolation policy was being threatened by the naval fleet sent by America to force open trade borders, certain people in high places begged the Guardians for help. 

The Guardians pitied them, and sent a miraculous holder named Rachelle. She held the wolf miraculous. 

Under the guise of Wildwolf, she tried to fight off the fleet. 

But in the heat of battle, she was captured and brought to see the Commodore, Matthew Calbraith Perry. The Commodore was fascinated by the strange power given to Wildwolf. 

He removed her miraculous and experimented on it for many days. By the time Rachelle managed to escape her prison on the ship and retrieve it, the miraculous was damaged. 

She made it off the ship and back to the Guardians with pure will. 

After that, no further miraculouses were hired out as mercenaries, and the wolf miraculous was never used again. 

But the powers it provided would be exceptionally useful in the search and rescue Marinette was planning. 

So with a deep breath, she picked up the necklace. It was a slender gold chain with a blue stone pendant. 

Placed it around her neck. 

The stone hung comfortably just at the hollow of her throat. 

A glowing silver sphere began to circle her. When it stopped it revealed Luppi, the wolf’s kwami. Luppi grinned, and was about to speak when Marinette shushed her, motioning to Luka, who was still sleeping. 

Luppi nodded, and zipped her lips. Marinette tiptoed out and Luppi followed. 

They stopped when they were out of earshot from Luka’s hut. Luppi turned to Marinette, excitement in her eyes. 

She was the size of a regular kwami. She was a dark grey but for a white riff on her chest. She had tiny wolf ears and deep golden eyes. When she spoke, Marinette could see minuscule fangs. 

“Guardian,” Luppi bowed deeply. “It has been a long time.” 

Marinette smiled at her. 

“Yes. How’re you?” she asked the kwami. 

Luppi shrugged. 

“Been better,” she said. 

“I hope you’re up for a mission.” 

Luppi perked up immediately. “Of course!” 

She deflated. “I have to warn you, though. My miraculous isn’t what it used to be. There are still a couple... glitches.” 

Marinette smiled kindly, and petted Luppi’s head. “I know what happened. I’m not worried-it’s only for a little while.” 

Luppi grinned. “For real?” 

“Yep.” 

“Sick! You know all the logistics?” 

Marinette grinned. “I did my research.” 

She grabbed the pendant and thrust it out in front of her. “Luppi, let’s hunt!” 

Luppi squeaked in excitement, and flew into the necklace. It shimmered, then transformed in a blink of an eye. The chain became silver, and the stone took on the appearance of a full moon. 

Marinette drew her hands from her feet up, charcoal body armor drawing up over her legs, tall combat boots with silver heels and tips. Her abdomen was encircled by a silver band. 

She flicked her wrists out. Shoulder and chest armor appeared. Wrist guards. Silver gloves, and gleaming Wolverine-like claws shot out of her knuckles. 

A hood folded over her head, and her hair under it came out of its pigtails and blew loose. Wolf's ears popped up on top of her hood. 

A mask, white. 

And the finishing touch- her starry blue eyes turned a deep, dark gold. Her final pose was a crouch with one leg back and the opposite arm forward, claws extended. 

She realized that her face was pulled into a feral snarl and quickly schooled her expression back to something less terrifying. 

All the sudden her urgency to find Chat rushed back to her, and her eyes pricked with tears as he thought of him, alone. She turned and ran into the night. 

Her new name would be Lupine. And she was on a mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also PS I had to make up some miraculous lore there but lemme tell you Wildwolf has always been a favorite AU of mine so here we are, and Lupine will be FABULOUS!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay SO.   
My dumb self went and started a new fic cause I'm an idiot like that. My excuse is that apocalyptic Paris was getting on my nerves and I wanted to have some fun with the headcanons I keep seeing on Pinterest. Also I miss LadyNoir fluffies. It will be MariChat too though cause *whispers gleefully* MariChat for lifeeee. If you're interested go check it out and please constructively criticise.   
Pls note that I am not in any way putting OoA on hiatus, I just might update a little slower than I'd like. Imma try to keep within a week to make up for shorter chapters but I make no promises.  
Okay that's it. Thanks!

It was raining cats and dogs. 

Chat was sitting on the summit of the Notre Dame, one of the few remaining landmarks in Paris. He was already soaked to the bone and figured a little more water couldn’t hurt. 

Okay, a lot more water. 

The sting of Marinette’s words had faded a little, and he could see what she had been thinking. 

Telling Luka it all made sense too, he supposed. It still hurt. 

But he was okay. 

His heart had broken so many times in the last couple weeks, it was just trapped in limbo. Marinette’s virtual rejection was just icing on the cake. 

Chat looked out over the ruined cityscape. In the darkness tiny points of light could be seen some places- large camps where people didn’t have to be afraid of the attention a light drew in the dark city. 

The rain was a thick curtain and puddles formed in moments. 

Water dripped down his back and head- the tips of his locks drizzling water over his face. His boots were waterlogged. 

How was that even possible? 

Then he saw a little flash of green through the downpour. It caught his eye and he turned to focus, trying to discern what on earth it was. 

Then he realized- it was a tree. A little one- the kinds that grow in little pots on city sidewalks. Its leaves glowed a vibrant green as it soaked up the rain. 

Chat smiled. Maybe Paris hadn’t been completely destroyed after all. 

Maybe there was hope. 

\--

Lupine raised her nose to sniff the air. The downpour was quickly washing away scent trails, so she had to hurry. 

She could use her call, but then she would only have five minutes before turning back. And she didn’t fancy being out in his rain without this marvelous hood keeping water from going down her back and in her ears. 

So she kept searching for the trace of scent that Chat Noir must have left. That leather was so overpowering, it had to be smellable for miles around. 

Thirty minutes later she still had nothing. She must have prowled half of Paris by now, but still couldn’t catch a hint of Chat. And the rain was fast ruining it. 

“Screw it,” she decided.  “Alpha Howl!” she shouted into the rain, throwing her hand up, claws extended. 

After a moment of tense anticipation, seven huge wolves slunk out of the darkness around her. Alpha Howl summoned her a pack, which would stay with her til she detransformed. The wolves paced close to her and sat, looking at Lupine with what she supposed was respect. 

“Track down Chat Noir. Once you find him, bring him to me.” The wolves nodded in unison, then turned to gallop off into the shadows. 

Suddenly Lupine realized exactly what she had said to them. “Wait! Hang on, I didn’t mean that...” but the wolves were already gone. She groaned and facepalmed. She hoped Chat wouldn’t think that her pack was an akuma of some sort. 

She’d hate to have them hurt him.

\--

Chat was still sitting on the top of Notre Dame. It was still raining. 

At some point, his cat eyes had de-focused and the tree he’d been staring at had been lost in the blur of rain. 

It was okay, though. He’d already committed the sight to memory. 

He’d gotten used to being soaked by now, and the water permeating him felt natural. Cats hated water.  _ Hated _ it. So the fact that he was comfortable meant something must really be wrong with him. 

But suddenly the atmosphere tensed. The shadows felt darker, more malicious. Every muscle in Chat’s body electrified, and if he’d been furry instead of leather-clad, his every hair would have stood on end.

Then out of the darkness- a howl. 

Chat jumped about six feet in the air and nearly screeched. He landed in all fours, then plopped down on the ground. 

He laughed weakly. 

“Dog must be out. Scared me half to death.” 

He laughed at himself for a moment, then slowly realized that he wasn’t alone on the rooftop of the Notre Dame. 

A huge black wolf emerged from the shadows, eyes glinting. 

Chat’s pupils dilated. He put one foot back as if to back away. 

The creature growled. 

Chat’s eyes went wider. 

“Nice... dog...” 

Another growl. 

Suddenly his foot couldn’t go back any farther and was hanging over empty air. 

A bit of gravel was nudged over the edge by his boot toe and bounced over the edge, falling to the dark street below. 

Behind him- the edge. In front, a cat’s worst enemy.

Me-owch.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, this one's kinda short but the next will be a doozy I very much promise.
> 
> Also, I was reading back through this and just realized that I should probably mark this fic for graphic descriptions of violence so just pretend I totally did that when it came out.
> 
> Okay that's it enjoy the fluffy violence! :3

Lupine paced the dark street. 

She glanced down at her necklace as another portion flashed back to blue. 

Her time was running out. 

“C’mon, c’mon...” 

What was taking them so long? Surely Chat couldn’t put up much of a fight. 

She could hear howls in the distance but wasn’t worried. It was their form of communication. If they stopped howling, she’d be concerned. 

Suddenly she heard an indignant yowl that echoed over the landscape, and giggled a little. 

“Pack, one. Chat, zerooooo.” 

She drew it out, and did a little victory dance like she would when she won a round of Mecha Strike. 

The yowls continued, and seemed to be getting closer. 

She grinned. 

Her wolves melted out of the shadows, and the one in the lead had a leather tail clamped in his jaws. 

The wolf was so tall that Chat hung by his tail and couldn’t touch the ground. He clawed and hissed, but it only made the wolves growl in a funny way that almost sounded like laughter. 

They stopped just in front of Lupine and sat back on their haunches, tongues flopping out of their mouths like dogs pleased with themselves. 

When the wolf keeping Chat opened his jaw, Chat dropped and tried to scurry away, but the wolf put an enormous paw down on his tail and kept him there, looking almost bored as he did. 

Chat hissed and did that strange cat “ffft” noise. But then he saw Lupine standing, arms crossed, and leapt backward as far as his tail would allow. 

He screeched at her. 

“Akuma! What are you doing here?!” 

Lupine giggled. “Playing with you, silly kitty.” 

Before he could react, she stepped forward and booped his nose. 

He hissed and lunged, but she sidestepped him and stepped back out of his range. 

“But, contrary to what you might think,” she studied the tips of her fingers, trying to be as un-Marinette-like as possible. “I’m not an akuma. Your strange friends sent me to fetch you. Seems you ran out on them a bit soon for their liking.” 

Chat snarled. “How should I know you’re telling the truth? Besides, you’re holding me hostage by giant wolves. That seems pretty… akuma-like to me.” 

She scoffed. “If you promise not to run, I’ll tell him to let go. But-” 

Her necklace beeped urgently, and she placed a hand on it as another phase winked out and turned blue. 

“But it seems that I’ll have to get back to you in a moment.” 

She squinted at him. 

“I don’t have to tie you up or anything, do I?” 

Chat huffed, then sat down criss-cross applesauce. “I’ll be here,” he grumbled. 

She nodded, then grinned and blew him a kiss as she ducked into the nearest shopfront. 

Not a moment too soon. 

A silver light flashed through the little window, and the wolves all raised their heads and howled. Then they dissipated into shadows. 

The wolf that had been holding Chat gave him a particularly baleful look before dissolving. Chat gave him one last good hiss, and swiped at his dissolving form. 

When all the wolves had been dissolved to shadows, Chat say back down to wait for the mysterious girl.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not really happy with the flow here but I just had to get it over with. WARNING THERE IS MILD SEXUAL CONTACT. IF THAT BOTHERS YOU DON'T READ IT. I wrote this after seeing the Felix episode and hating his guts. And this is the last- I officially have nothing else planned. I am henceforth flying blind. I'm terribly sorry.

The silver light raced over Marinette, and she stood in the convenience store. Luppi swirled around her. 

“That was so sick!” she laughed. 

“Yeah!” Marinette giggled. “The look on Chat’s face, getting dragged in by a  _ dog… _ ” They both dissolved into laughter. 

“Hey,” Marinette said. “I had a question. You looked through my memories, right?” 

“Yeah. Oh, I’m sorry! Was I not supposed to?” The kwami wrung her paws. 

Marinette smiled. “No, that’s okay. But do you remember the most recent? The whole... Hawkmoth possessing me thing?” 

Luppi sighed. “Yeah. It looked pretty rough.” 

Marinette quirked an eyebrow. “Do you know why it’s stopped?” 

Luppi grinned. “That was me! Well, not totally me. You taking control at the river definitely beat it back pretty well, maybe even for good. But when you engaged my miraculous, I saw what happened and did my best to seal it. Has it helped?” 

Marinette smiled softly. “Mhm. It has. Thanks, Luppi.” 

The kwami grinned. “I know I’ll never be as good as Tikki, but it’s nice to know I’m a little useful.” 

Marinette waved her hands frantically. “No! Don’t think like that, Luppi. You’re both different and good in your own way.” 

Luppi smiled a little sadly. “Whatever you say, Mari.”

Marinette was about to protest when she heard a door creak in the back of the store. She whipped her head around, and the hair on the back of her neck stood up. 

She whispered, “Luppi, let’s hunt.” 

Silver light enveloped her, and Lupine appeared. She stalked around the shelves, making her way to the back door. 

She could see someone. 

Her muscles tensed, and she drew the hood a little farther over her face. The figure stopped, then turned toward her. 

Lupine shifted into a crouch. Then she realized that if whoever it was realized she was a hero, they might attack her, like the man at the camp had Luka. Luka’d told her about it. 

She spotted a rack with clearance clothes and pulled off a pair of baggy cargo pants and a zip-up sweatshirt. She pulled on the cargos and hastily shoved her arms through the sleeves. 

The intruder was trying to get a look at her. She could tell he was a guy now. A huge, hulking figure, and if she really listened she could hear him grumbling something in a low man-voice. 

Could smell the faint cigarette smoke on his breath. 

He was coming closer. 

She tensed. Then stepped out to meet him. 

“Why hello there,” she said offhandedly. 

He didn’t jump. 

Wasn’t startled. 

“Not sure if you’re aware, but you’re in my space.” She internally winced, thinking for a moment that this might be where he lived. Or his territory. Or whatever. But then her mind snapped back to the twenty different ways she could prepare if he tried to hit her. 

He grinned. Lupine felt an uncomfortable tickle in the back of her mind, like some buried instinct was coming to life. Almost like it did when she leapt over rooftops as Ladybug, like a miraculous going into autopilot... 

“Oh, sorry, sweetheart,” he slurred. “I wasn’t aware that someone of any prestige had taken up residence in my fine establishment,” he grinned. “But so well as you’re here, perhaps we should take some time to get to know each other a little... closer.” 

The sensation was stronger now, almost to the point where Marinette could see what was happening from the view of a bystander. Lupine wasn’t fazed. She smiled a little sly smile, and placed her fingers on his chest, then walked her fingers up his well muscled torso. 

“Got a name, good sir?” she asked teasingly. 

His eyes drank her in, and the tip of his tongue flicked out, and licked his lips. 

“Félix,” he whispered roughly. 

“That’s real fine.” Lupine said smoothly. 

Her fingers came to a rest at the top of his chin. She tilted it downward. 

“Real fine.” she whispered. Then she leaned toward him. 

Marinette panicked. She couldn’t stop whatever was happening, she couldn’t pull back! 

Lupine kept going forward. 

Marinette, in a burst of willpower, threw Lupine back and socked the man in the jaw. He fell back, hands that had been reaching for her flailing back as he hit the ground with a hard thud. His motions were slurred as he rested on his knees, a hand cupping his red-streaked jawline. Blood trickled out of his mouth, and his peeling lips curled into a menacing smile. 

“All right.” His eyes glowing with a terrifying shine. 

Lupine stepped back and raised her chin intimidatingly, though the Marinette part of her couldn’t help but feel terrified in the presence of this man. There was something lurking in those slitted eyes, something inhuman. 

“We can play like that!” He lunged at her with a roar. Lupine easily sidestepped him, and grabbed his wrist and flipped him. He crashed into a CD stand, and the metallic screech of thousands of antiques clattering on linoleum filled the air. 

He was up in an instant and lunged at her, grabbed her waist and pinning her close to his body. Lupine saw the glint of lust in his face and tried to use her body weight to throw him back. Felix frowned at her struggle, and put a finger to his chin as though he were contemplating how best to defile her. 

“You know,” Félix smirked and whispered in her ear. “I don’t like when my playthings try to escape.” 

Marinette, still sealed away, was screaming blindly with terror. Lupine only shivered. 

He flipped her over on her back, holding her down with one hand. Lupine grimaced as her body slammed roughly against the floor, her head slamming against the tile. Pain shot through her body. 

Her mind felt like it was on fire, and when she had the courage to open her eyes, she saw only the red waterfall of her own blood trickling down her brow. Lupine cursed, and kicked her feet back against him. He only laughed. 

“That’s payback for the scar.” 

Lupine looked at his bloody lip, and with sarcastic remarks running through her head she opened her mouth to retort. Felix grabbed her face in his hands and ran his dirty hands over her swollen lips, his eyes glimmering with desire and his breath heavy on her face. 

Lupine’s breath rattled. 

Felix went for her mouth with his.

For a moment she was frozen in terror and revulsion as he tried to force her, but she snapped and screamed against him. 

She freed her arm from his death grip and raised it to strike him. With an annoyed growl, Felix grabbed her arm, twisting it around her back and crushing it beneath their combined weight. She cried out in pain.

He leaned closer to Lupine, his breath hot on her face. 

“Guess even superheroes aren’t invincible,” he snarled. 

Lupine growled and snapped at him, but he only laughed cruelly. 

She swung her legs for his torso and her foot caught between his legs. With a surprised hiss of pain, he fell back with a pained grunt, cradling his very unimpressive  _ area _ .

“You’ll pay for that,” he snarled, then lunged.

They tussled, his shouts of anger echoing. Finally he was crouched by the produce aisle, breathing heavy. He had a bloody nose and black eye that was already developing nicely. 

Lupine yawned. 

“You’re boring me,” she said. 

Then popped out her razor-sharp claws. Félix’s eyes bugged. 

“W-What?” he sputtered. 

She looked at him, no hint of pity in her gold eyes. “I enjoyed getting to know you, but after some time, I’ve decided you deserve a special place in hell.” she said drily. For once, Marinette was silent.

Then she stabbed him. 

Right in the gut. He choked, and his eyes dilated. Blood bubbled out of his mouth and gushed out of his abdomen. He coughed, once. 

Crimson sprayed over the grey tile. 

Then he was still. 

Lupine stood and watched as the light left his eyes. 

Then when she was sure he was dead, she turned and walked away. 

She simply walked away. 

The Marinette inside her was completely numb.  _ What just happened? WHAT JUST HAPPENED?! _

But she couldn’t do anything. All she could do was keep walking, away from the bloodied body on the ground. Away from that nightmare.

She was at the front of the store when she saw Chat Noir still sitting on the pavement outside. He looked perfectly content, sitting criss-cross applesauce, holding his ankles, and rocking back and fourth to the tune of a song that must have been playing in his head. 

She walked out, her expression numb. When the door jingled, he looked up, smiling expectantly. But when he saw the blood, soaking her sweatshirt and spattered on her face, his mouth opened in a perfect O of horror. 

She looked at him, blank. 

Then, at the sight of his familiar, vibrant emerald eyes, a sob broke out of her, and she rushed to him, collapsing in his arms in a fit of tears. He pulled her close, shocked into doing what he did for every akuma victim. 

Comforting. 

She cried harder, and he stroked the back of her head, telling her over and over that it would be okay. That she would be okay.

She would never be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so if you ever have terrible writer's block or legitimately don't want to continue and am ready to give up a storyline read this book 'Eliza and her Monsters' by Francesca Zappia. It really helped me. I probably should have attached that to a better chapter but oh well.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this chapter was a bitch to write. Sick authors make for angsty chapters.   
But honestly this fic is going downhill, spiraling out of control, and I'm planning to hopefully wrap it up quickly. I'm really just stalling until I get a magic author epiphany of how to connect this to the ending planned.  
So without hopeless ado, I present to thou this ugly, nasty, badly-written chapter.

Chat wasn’t quite certain what to do with himself. A sobbing probably-not-but-still-a-possibility akuma was nestled in his lap. An extremely odd situation. He was trying to do his best to keep the hair out of her face, but the hood and copious amounts of snot were making the task nearly impossible.

Finally he just pulled the hood back down around her neck, and gathered the midnight hair at the nape of her neck and let her curl in his lap as he rocked back and forth.

Every time he tried to get her to speak she would only shake her head and her great hiccuping sobs would renew. 

This picture was so different from the one from earlier. Where had the confident, feisty wolf-girl gone? 

What had happened in there?

She began to murmur something, but even his cat-ears couldn’t pick it up. He looked down at her, green eyes furrowed. She mumbled louder, and he could pick it up.

“ _ I need to get out of this suit I need to get out of this suit I need to get out of this suit. _ ” He saw her reach for the pendant tucked underneath the bloody hoodie, trying to yank it over her head. His eyes widened, and he placed a hand on hers tentatively. She jerked back, looking up at him with huge golden eyes. 

“Wait a minute. Shouldn’t you… y’know?” He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “Preserve your identity and stuff?” 

She shook her head wildly. 

“Got to get this off.” 

Before Chat could stop her, she succeeded in pulling the pendant’s chain over her head and off her. The transformation left in a roiling flash of silver, leaving a sweaty, shaking Marinette behind. She, ignoring Chat Noir’s subsequent choke-on-air, tossed the now dormant miraculous away. Luppi didn’t reappear.

Marinette’s cries resumed as she was freed from the stifling urges that the wolf miraculous had pressed upon her. Leadership, not showing weakness, performing in the moment, all of it was gone. Only Marinette remained. 

Poor, weak Marinette. Nothing without a miraculous. Seeking love and affection at every turn only to have her attempts rebuffed. Luka had darker things swimming below the surface of his kind gaze. Adrien, for all Marinette knew, was dead. Chat…

She’d hurt Chat.

He would never forgive her. Who could ever forgive her? She’d been an insufferable burden to them all since the horrific night at the Eiffel Tower. The fateful showdown, when everything had fallen apart. When she lost her miraculous, when she lost Tikki… 

Her earrings. 

Where were they?

Oh no. 

She flung a hand up to feel her ears, searching desperately. The cool, reassuring metal spheres were gone.

NonononononononNO!

Her sobs renewed, but this time she drew away from the comforting arms encircling her. She didn’t deserve that. She didn’t deserve to be consoled. She’d lost her miraculous, her one tether to any confidence, her one claim to fame.

Now she was truly alone.

She could hear Chat’s disturbed tone, asking her over and over what was wrong, was she hurt, pleading with her to let him help her, but she only drew further away with each battery. 

The night wore on, and the rain still pattered. They were both soaked to the bone, and no one had come looking for either of them. 

Maybe no one would.

When she had exhausted her affront, Chat gathered her up and carried her into a nearby shop front. Out of the rain for the first time that night, he hummed a little as he set Marinette down in a cosy little nook under the counter. He had conceded to her silence for a little while, and was content for now to let her sit in quietude. 

She curled under the faux wood countertop, her mournful cries silenced. Chat had tucked the Wolf pendant into one of his many pockets, and had sat himself down. 

He would take this time to consider his life story and how deep it was, but for now he was just tired. 

“Claws in,” he muttered. The leather suit disappeared in a blaze, and Plagg drifted down to land in Adrien’s outstretched hands. 

“You imbecile,” Plagg said crossly. “Keeping me transformed.”

He continued to grumble as Adrien pulled a plastic baggie of cheese out of his pocket, only stopping to snarf it down. Adrien heaved a sigh, and leaned back against the wall.

He was so tired.

Plagg flew off to investigate the room, and Adrien paid no mind to his mumbles of displeasure. All he could do was heave another deep sigh as he closed his eyes. Ladybug swam in his vision again, her bright smile taunting him from a place he could never go. 

She was probably dead.

Machine-gun fire echoed down the street.

He didn’t care. 

Out of the silence, Plagg’s screech of shock shattered Adien’s comatose state. He bolted up, only to hear his kwami’s sobs of anger. 

“Plagg?” he called, “Plagg, what’s going on?”

He rounded the corner to see Plagg hunkered over Marinette, his tiny black body shaking with rage. Marinette’s big blue eyes were blown wide with concern at the kwami’s plight. 

“ _ Who did this to you?!”  _ Plagg screamed, eyes blazing.

“I… I-”

“ _ Who did this?! I’ll kill them, I swear I will-”  _

“Plagg, what the hell? What are you-”

“You!” Plagg wheeled on Adrien, who threw his hands up in defense. “How didn’t you notice?! Do you have  _ eyes, imbecile? _ ”

Adrien frantically tried to soothe Plagg. 

“I don’t understand what you’re-”

“Look at her face!” the kwami cried. “Look at her arms! Look at her mouth! Do you not see her swollen lips?” he turned back Marinette, his voice changing to something weaker. “Marinette, who did this?”

“His…” her voice broke.

Adrien turned to her, his eyes wide. “Wait. Mari?”

She looked down at her lap, eyes welling. 

“His name was Félix,” she whispered. 

Adrien and Plagg tensed. 

“Lupine-... Lupine k-” she broke off, gulping air. 

Adrien kneeled down and took her hand softly. She jerked back and whipped her eyes up to his, fearful. 

His vibrant green eyes. His familiar, green glow. 

She looked down.

“Lupine killed him.”

Her features hardened.

“I killed him. ”

An uncomfortable silence fell over them. 

Plagg’s laughter broke the silence. He cackled as he turned somersaults midair. 

“Good for you, critter,” he said. 

Marinette looked up at Adrien. He could tell the only thing she wanted right now was anything other than Plagg’s reaction.

_ Cause Marinette’s not a killer. _

His eyes flicked to the blood-soaked clothes, lying out on the plaza in the rain.

_ Right? _


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so if you're the type who enjoys chapter soundtracks or whatever, I was listening to Sorrow by Sleeping at Last when I wrote this so you're welcome to it.  
I won't say much but yeah this is basically the culmination of Marinette's thing- you know what let me stop stalling have fun with this.

The morning had dawned clear and blue. Too bright for a dark day.

Alya stomped around, screeching with her hands thrown up in the air. All the others simply stood off to the side, waiting. Everyone knew there was nothing you could do when she got like this. 

“And  _ you! _ ” She wheeled on Luka, whose eyes widened in terror. “ _ You  _ wouldn’t go with her! It was a simple request! A  _ simple request! _ But what do you do? Nooooo, I’m not going to keep my crazy friend who has a problem with getting periodically possessed from running off into the night! I just want to  _ sleep,  _ Luka says. Marinette, we’ll go in the  _ morning _ , he says. And what does he think Marinette will do? Oh no, her friend didn’t just leave the camp distressed, did he? Oh, no, Marinette’s not too compassionate for her own good, is she? Nooooo, he says. Marinette, we’ll go in the  _ morning,  _ he says.” 

Luka put up a hand as if to protest, but Alya pressed a finger to his lips in the universal gesture for ‘shut up, it’s my turn to talk’. She then proceeded to delve further into everything wrong Luka had ever done and how it all somehow led up to him letting Marinette go after Chat Noir. 

All everyone else could do was stand there awkwardly. Nino had a furious scarlet blush creeping up his neck, and he wasn’t sure if he was ashamed of Alya’s behavior or wholeheartedly agreeing. 

Kagami just sat with her lips pursed. She’d warned them, and they hadn’t heeded. These were the consequences. Luka just happened to be taking fall.

Chloe was transformed, as usual. She leaned into one hip and studied her nails. Or rather, where her nails would be if she wasn’t Queen Bee at the moment. 

“You really didn’t think about the fact that she has seizures administered by Hawkmoth? The idea that she could be dead in a ditch right now doesn’t  _ bother _ you?” Alya sneered. “Well, I hope you’re happy, Luka. Look around, huh?” She flung her hand out to gesture at the ragtag band, nearly smacking Luka in the face. “She’s probably dead by now, y’know? She’s-” a sob broke free, and Alya slammed her fists against Luka’s chest. “She probably got mugged or something and is lying in an alley with a rusty pipe in her head. Or she’s wandering around with those awful eyes killing other people, and it’s-” Alya looked up at him, tears running down her face freely, her features twisted in grief and anger. “ _ It’s all your fault! _ ”

She turned and disappeared into her and Nino’s rock hut. They could all hear her broken sobs, following her. Nino crept in to find her curled against a wall, pouring her heart out. 

“Babe? You okay?”

She looked up, tears and snot smeared on her glasses. She turned her head away. 

“I’m sorry, Nino. I just… need a minute.”

Nino crouched beside her and wrapped his arms around her.

“Sorry, babe. I couldn’t leave you like this even if I wanted to. We’ll get through it together, okay? Baby steps.” He pulled her shaking form against him, and stroked her hair softly. “It’s gonna be okay, Alya.”

“I just…” Alya sniffed. “I really wish Ladybug were here, okay? She just-” her voice cracked. “She always fixes everything, right? When she left everything just came crashing down.” She gulped air. “I don’t know what we’re going to do,” she whispered softly.

Nino kept stroking her hair, murmuring. 

“ _ It’ll be okay, babe. It’ll be okay. _ ”

\--

Marinette stared at Adrien with wide eyes. Then she flicked her gaze to Plagg, giggling to himself about how she killed someone. 

_ No.  _

_ Not ready to think about that yet. _

Of course she’d made the connection. She had no idea how she hadn’t ever before. Given, he had changed his hair. But the eyes…

She studied his crystal-clear green eyes, still blankly gazing out at the plaza. She’d just woken up after a couple hour’s sleep under the counter, and he was still staring out there. 

Had he been up all night?

But really only a couple hours. 

It had been a long night, been dark out for so long.

She could barely remember the playful banter she had shared with Chat (Adrien??) as Lupine. It was a lost piece of her time as Ladybug, as part of an inseparable duo. 

But then the tower fell, and she fell with it.

But at least she now understood his reaction at the final battle up there. Standing at the top of the tower, when Chat had finally gotten a shot at the Butterfly brooch. His cry of pain and betrayal as he ripped the brooch away to see his father, still half-clad in the uniform of a murderer. 

She understood his failure now. 

The surge of energy that had followed his emotional spike had been the beginning of the end.

Then the violet light flashed, and she was falling…

But of course, she will never wield the Wolf miraculous again. No one will. As the Guardian, she had the power to lock it away until she could figure out how to heal Luppi from her obsessive compulsion to control her users. 

But until then, the Wolf miraculous, and Luppi with it, would never leave to dormant sleep of the deepest depths of the Miraculous box. 

Marinette turned back to him. The boy who had captured her heart in one fell swoop, so long ago. She was still struggling to equate him with her minou, to bring him back down to the earth where mortals like herself walked. 

She had thought he was dead. Had accepted it, even. But here, it was just another day, another breath. 

She wondered for what must have been the millionth time. How long had she drifted? How long had she lain, comatose, at the bottom of the Seine, before some age-old river spirit pulled her to the surface for Chat Noir to see?

She wondered if she could return. Somehow fix Tikki, transform, take on spots again, and just dive into the dark waters, leaving the others to deal with the hell on the surface of the world. She would lie in darkness and sleep forever, let the mortal world work out its own problems.

But she had a job. A responsibility to the world, to hold up the mantle placed upon her the moment she picked up the infernal earrings. No matter how she wanted to take this responsibility and throw it to the dust and storm off, saying “I’m done, that’s it.” 

Master Fu chose her, trusted her when he left his memories and the Miracle Box in her care. 

_ He chose ME. _

Fire flashed in her mind, some long-dormant flame, awakened. Old memories, not hers. 

Words flew through her head, and as they did, the flame in her grew stronger. 

This was it.

This  _ is _ it.

Ancient rituals, images of symbols and candles passing around and over. Chanting filled her mind, pulsating with the heartbeat lodged in her throat. And through it all, the flame in her grew, until it was a roaring fire in her head. All she can see is flames, but out of the ashes, something rises. 

She can hear Adrien calling frantically, is blindly aware of her flailing limbs and the tortured scream rattling around in her head, realising she’s the one screaming. 

But she doesn’t care.

Something rises Out of Ashes.

The old burned away, lying in glowing embers scattered at her feet. And the new rises above the smoke, rebirthed.

A Phoenix, brilliant fiery plumage filling her vision, tracing burning trails over all of her. And she stares upward in awe at the creature, born of pain and destruction.

But it is  _ radiant _ .

And, in a breath, it vanishes, and her vision clears. She looks up to see Adrien, eyes blown wide in worry and frustration. 

But she smiles.

“I have a plan."


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is three in the morning. I have written this for you. Enjoy it. Expect more. There will be more. But not now cause sleep is a thing, right?
> 
> Also btw anyone who happens to be inspecting my bookmarks don't be alarmed I just kinda did this thing where I read Marichat. 
> 
> Then I bookmark it.
> 
> ALL of it.

Adrien sat back on his heels as Marinette stood, all signs of her seizure from earlier gone. She all but ran to the receptionist desk she’d been sleeping under a moment ago, yanking the desk drawer open to paw through its contents. A moment later, she triumphantly held up a pad of paper and a pen. She slammed the drawer closed and hunched over the desk, beginning to write. 

He could hear her chanting under her breath, her eyes still wild. 

She stood at the desk, pen flying. 

Adrien turned to look at Plagg and raised an eyebrow as if to ask if he had any idea what she was doing. 

But Plagg was enthralled by Marinette’s actions, his eyes glazed as he listened to her.

_ Uhm, what? _

“There!” Marinette exclaimed, throwing the pen down. Plagg immediately zoomed over to read what she had written. 

“Mhm...mhm…” he murmured as he read. When he reached the end of the page his eyes blew wide. “Pigtails? This last part here- are… are you sure about that?”

She smiled softly at him.

“Yes, silly cheese boy.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “I’m sure.”

Adrien stood. 

“Hang on. What on earth?” He looked at the page, but couldn’t read it. The symbols were anything but French. “What  _ language  _ is that? What was that weird flipping-out thing earlier? Was it Hawkmoth?”

Marinette didn’t look at him but instead at the paper. “No,” she murmured. “It wasn’t Hawkmoth.”

“Marinette, I don’t  _ understand.  _ Please tell me. What the hell is going on here? How did you get wrapped up in this? It doesn’t make any  _ sense- _ ”

“I’m the Guardian.”

Adrien stopped. He turned to stare at her.

She kept her gaze pointedly on the paper.

“What?” he whispered.

She whipped around to him, tears welling in her huge blue eyes. “I’m the Guardian.”

He spluttered. “But- but you said that- that Ladybug was the Guardian. You- that’s what you said! But you-” his eyes widened. He stepped back, and raised a shaking finger. 

“You’re dead! DEAD! You fell off the tower, we didn’t see anything, not a THING, for months. MONTHS! And now you just come  _ waltzing in _ here trying to say that- that you- and you  _ killed  _ someone!” He threw his hands up. “You can’t be- you’ve got to be kidding me! This is some bullshit right here. I’m calling bs.  _ Be. Es _ . You can’t be…”

He looked at her.

She offered a wobbly smile.

“No!” he pointed at her. “Stop talking!”

“What?” She looked at him, confused. “I didn’t say a thing!”

“Then stop- stop  _ thinking  _ so loudly!”

They froze for a moment.

Then she giggled. 

He scowled at her. 

“This isn’t funny, Marin- Ladyb-  _ AUGH! _ ” he stamped his foot.

Child.

“Why didn’t you tell us, back at camp? We knew everyone’s identity, it wasn’t an issue-”

“Oh, really?” she snapped. “It wasn’t an issue, huh? Then how come you didn’t tell me who  _ you  _ were? It was a perfectly logical assumption that no one there knew your identity, right? Cause when I was there everyone but Kagami acted like you had the plague or something. Wouldn’t talk to you, never joked with you, nothing to indicate any kind of friendship! Our identities were always meant to be kept secret forever, so how was-”

“Wait, wait, wait.” Adrien held up a hand, eyes glimmering with barely controlled anger. “What do you mean kept  _ forever _ ? You  _ literally  _ told me that, and I quote, ‘someday’. Not no day. Not never. Not ‘don’t you dare fantasize it’ll never happen’ day. SOME day. That implies that we would,” he sneered. “Who’s the liar now?”

Marinette blushed furiously. “Well… well…” she spluttered.

“Nothing. No excuse,” he turned away furiously. 

“Chat, please- I was trying to  _ protect _ you-” she grabbed his arm desperately but he shrugged her off and wheeled to face her, emanating fury. 

“Well, how about a little  _ trust _ in your dear old partner now, hmm? How about you trust me to protect my  _ self _ ,” he hissed. She took a step back. “You think you can do it all yourself, all on your pretty little lonesome.” Adrien jabbed. “Well, why don’t you see how well you work when you can protect  _ everyone.  _ And you can do it without some  _ sidekick dragging you down, _ ” he spat.

He watched as her stricken expression resigned itself to holding back tears. He watched as she grabbed the pad of paper from the desk and threw the door open, running away down the street. 

He didn’t care. 

He slowly sank to the floor.

The last thing he remembered was a little black butterfly.

Then everything went black.

Or should he say, white.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah I know I said I would have a happy ending but it is three o'clock in the morning, it is too late (early) so hecking flip the plotline send them all to hell. I'll change the tags laterrr. I am tired and these small children reflect my emotions. In other words.
> 
> SEND THEM ALL TO HELLLLLL
> 
> *breaks out into aggressive fortnite dances cause*  
*sleep deprived shenanigans*


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I have certifiably made a plan. There is a list of the stuff that's going to happen in order on the document for this. This will certifiably be finished. Hopefully the end will satisfy you all. 
> 
> This chapter is totally ridiculously short buuuuut honestly I was just happy to have anything done to post on time because *procrastination and reading other fics waaaay better and dying inside* schoolwork am I right?!
> 
> Alrighty here take this *shoves chapter at reader* and I will see you all *salute* in a week. *jumps out of back of plane* *plummets to earth below*

Tears blurred in Marinette’s eyes as she raced down the broken street, her kwami clutched to her chest with the pages covered in foreign writing. 

One page to save her kwami.

One to save her. Maybe.

Here. She looked up at the little office building, a sign out front proudly proclaiming that there was space for rent available. That’s not what she’s here for.

She came through a familiar foyer, walked to a familiar elevator. Came on out an empty hallway, where sunlight streamed through the bullet holes punctured in the sheetrock.

Those are new.

Her footsteps stop before a paper door. After a moment, she pushes it open quietly, body close to the door. It opens to a small, former masseuse shop.

No one’s been here in a while. But undisturbed in the back room sit what Marinette’s come for- all those dumb old herbs of Master Fu’s. She’d need them.

She pawed through a couple jars, squinting to read the faded labels penciled on the terracotta jars. She opened one or two only to have massive sneezing attacks. After regaining control of herself, she stuck to looking at the labels.

When she’d collected all the stuff listed on the paper she didn’t remember writing, she poured them all in a single glass jar. 

Very ordinary. So far so good.

She placed her unconscious kwami in the bottom of the jar and sealed it, then copied a simple symbol onto the outside of the jar with an expo marker. Two wings connected by a bar.

She shook the jar up.

The stuff inside swirled together and began to glimmer with bits of purple light. Then the storm inside it was calm, and on a bed of sand reposed Tikki. A white butterfly floated at the top of the jar, tapping at the seal, wings fluttering.

A simple separation spell. She could purify the sand later. 

Marinette twisted open the jar, “Bye bye, little butterfly,” and the butterfly fluttered daintily out the door, done with.

She turned back to the jar.

Tikki was stirring. She cracked her big blue eyes, and turned them to Marinette.

Staring into Tikki’s eyes had always been odd, Marinette knew. There was something about the depth, the infinite wisdom that came with having put up with all this for thousands of years. Kwamis come into existence when a new idea is formed, and having been present at the Dawn of Creation gives one a certain…

How do you say…

Aura.

Of course, Plagg’s eyes had opened later, the moment Abel’s blood hit dust and grass was crushed as his body fell. 

_ Your brother’s bloods call out- _

Not now.

Marinette tentatively stepped toward her kwami. The glass surrounding the red and black figure began to glow and warp. It folded outward fluidly, moving as if it melted away from the inside. Tikki floated up to meet Marinette’s hands, and settled within her cupped fingers.

“I’m sorry,” Marinette whispered. “I didn’t mean for it to end like that.”

Tikki looked up at her chosen, eyes that had seen a thousand deaths and would see a thousand more, crinkled with worry. Her squeaky voice lifted Marinette’s head.

“It’s not over yet.”

A sudden rending of metal shrieked through the city. Marinette and Tikki whipped their heads up to catch a glimpse of a white figure blasting blue beams at various structures.

“ **Marin** Ee _ eE _ tte… w **HEr** E Ar _ E y _ Ouu _ Uu _ u **U** u?”

They heard the haunting call. 

Marinette gasped, putting a hand to her mouth. “Mon Minou...” she whispered.

Tikki’s eyes narrowed. 

_ A thousand deaths. _

“Let’s go.”


End file.
